Porter County won’t give a Lake County township a subsidy for ambulance service provided to the Lakes of the Four Seasons community in Porter Township.

That was the word Tuesday from North Porter County Commissioner John Evans, who made a statement at the end of the commissionersâ meeting about the ambulance dispute. The other two commissioners, Bob Harper and Carole Knoblock, appeared to be in agreement.

Evans was responding to media reports that Winfield Township Trustee John Curley claims that Porter County isn’t contributing its fair share for ambulance protection in LOFS, an unincorporated community that straddles both sides of the county line. Ambulance service is provided in part by the LOFS fire department, which gets funding from Winfield Township.

Evans said that since 1988, the county has contracted with Porter Hospital to provide ambulance protection throughout the county. But in 1999, the LOFS fire department asked to be dispatched to the Porter County side of LOFS for ambulance calls.

Evans said the commissioners agreed at the time with the request from the fire department, but made it clear that Porter County would not contribute tax funds for the service and that Porter Hospital’s EMS would continue to provide the primary ambulance coverage.

Evans noted that Porter is under contract with Porter County to continue ambulance coverage through 2011, and that as far as he’s concerned, the hospital’s EMS will continue to service LOFS as it always has.

He also noted that Porter County’s E-911 department is the main dispatch for fire calls for all of LOFS, including the portion on the Lake County side. Fire protection for the community is handled by the LOFS department on the Lake County side, and the West Porter Township Fire Department on the Porter County side.

It’s unknown what will happen with the countywide hospital EMS contract after 2011. The commissioners recently formed a committee to explore a renegotiated contract and other alternatives.

As recommended by the Board of Finance, the commissioners passed a resolution to allow Porter County to invest its funds with any depository approved by the state. Before now, the county limited itself to Porter County institutions.

The investment policy will apply to any county funds invested by the county treasurer, including the proceeds from the sale of Porter Hospital, which now total around $170 million. County officials proposed the move in the hopes of securing a better return.

County Attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger said the state has a lengthy list of depositories that counties can invest with.

Also Tuesday, the commissioners moved forward with the plans to replace the phone system in county buildings with an internet-based system. Network Solutions will provide the new system; in addition, under a statewide purchasing system, the county will be able to purchase equipment at half price.

The contract approved Tuesday totals $170,171, which includes a $15,260 annual maintenance fee. The annual maintenance is expected to increase to around $27,000 next year after more county buildings get the new phone system.

Also Tuesday, the commissioners approved a contract for consulting work for new planning ordinances as needed.

Harper, who is president of the plan commission, said the planners frequently encounter situations that the county’s Unified Development Ordinance does not address, resulting in a need for ongoing amendments to the UDO.

The commissioners agreed to retain the firm of LSL Planning to prepare the draft ordinances, at hourly rates ranging from $40 to $180, depending on the services provided. Plan Commission Executive Director Robert Thompson said one of the first ordinances that LSL might work on will deal with new rules for small wind energy conversion systems.