And then there was one....

The DeWitt County Ambulance Advisory Committee ended a several month process Wednesday night by unanimously choosing northern Illinois based Paramedic Services of Illinois (PSI) as its recommendation to be the new paramedic service provider in the county.

Robert Horak, a Vice President for the Schiller Park company, says it's a relief to earn the confidence of the community, and looks forward to potentially being a part of the DeWitt County community.

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Three companies had submitted proposals, and given presentations in an attempt to become the county's next ambulance provider.  Some committee members also toured facilities of each of the proposing entities.  Abbott Emergency Services and the newly formed DeWitt County Ambulance Association were the other companies in the running.

Throughout Wednesday night's meeting committee members weighed in on how tough the decision was to make.  Tony Harris, Vice Chair of the Committee and DeWitt County E-911 Coordinator, stresses it was not an decision taken lightly.

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Before casting the final vote, the committee reviewed each presentation and each company's pros and cons.  Chair Teresa Barnett says she has no concerns about the service provided by PSI in its 26 other Illinois communities.

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Barnett also reminded the eight voting committee members of the weight of the decision before them, and encouraged them to vote for the company that would bring the best paramedic service to DeWitt County.

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Of the three proposing companies, PSI was the low bidder on the contract.  Their three year proposal also aims to potentially eliminate the need for a tax subsidy for local ambulance service, which was approved in a referendum of DeWitt County voters earlier this year.

The DeWitt County Ambulance Advisory Committee's recommendation now goes to the full DeWitt County Board, which will consider the issue at its rescheduled monthly meeting on August 30th.