State Rep. Phil Green on Wednesday led efforts to provide vital funding for first responders and communities in Lapeer County.

Green, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, proposed an amendment to House Bill 6027 that would shift surplus Emergency Management funds to the Michigan Department of Corrections to reimburse unpaid Emergency Medical Service Providers and hospitals. The amendment was not adopted as the legislation was advanced by the committee.

The amendment would have helped communities in Lapeer County in Green’s House District. The county’s local emergency medical service agency is currently owed $500,000 by the Department of Corrections for transporting inmates for medical treatment – putting lifesaving care at risk.

“Lapeer EMS, like many local emergency service providers across our state, operates on a very tight budget,” Green said. “When I think of emergency management as a concept and how it’s implemented, I think about having the resources needed to be able to respond when an emergency occurs. Having flexibility to use surplus funds to help local EMS agencies pay their hardworking staff provides resources to help them manage emergencies, and it would not take money away from any component of the state’s emergency management budget.

“This would be a solution to a very real problem our communities and first responders are facing. Unfortunately, the governor and her administration of the Department of Corrections are failing our community.”

Lapeer County EMS covers residents in the townships of Arcadia, Attica, Dryden, Elba, Goodland, Imlay, Lapeer, Mayfield, Metamora and Oregon, while also covering Hadley, Imlay City and North Branch.