Webster County’s new emergency medical services coordinator is now on the job.

Scott Richard is filling a new position created as a result of the March 2025 voter approval of a property tax to support emergency medical services.

Richard was introduced during Wednesday’s meeting of the county’s Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council.

He is a native of Minnesota, who has been a paramedic for 30 years. During that time he has worked for several different agencies. For the last 15 years he had been a paramedic for UnityPoint Health – LifeFlight. He has also been an EMS instructor for Des Moines Area Community College.

Richard will not be in charge of all the agencies providing emergency medical care in the county. Instead, he will serve as an adviser on training, medical supplies and equipment, and compliance with rules and regulations. He will also respond to emergency calls in areas of the county that do not have paramedic level service

May 4 was his first day on the job.

Establishment of the EMS coordinator position was part of the plan that was presented to the voters before the March 2025 referendum.

The council on Wednesday moved to get a vehicle and portable radio for Richard.

Council members voted to acquire a Ford Explorer from the Fort Dodge Police Department. It is an older vehicle with about 85,000 miles on it.

The council also voted to spend up to $6,000 for a portable radio.

Those purchases cost less than $50,000 so they will not require approval from the county Board of Supervisors.

In March 2025, Webster County voters approved a new levy of 75 cents per $1,000 of taxable value to support emergency medical services. It is expected to generate about $1.6 million a year.