Fiscal court, however, would have to pledge to pay off in July the remainder of Rescue's note which is now due at Taylor County Bank.

The county's budget for the current year contains $19,000 for Rescue that has not yet been spent, Rogers said. He said Taylor County Bank has agreed to extend the note until next fiscal year provided that a $19,000 payment be made now and the court agree to pay the balance of $34,000 in July.

Outstanding bills for Rescue have already been paid by the city, Rogers said.

Rogers, who is now the county's representative to Rescue's board of directors, said neither fiscal court nor city council alone can adequately fund Rescue.

"It has got to be a joint effort," Rogers said.

Last month, fiscal court by a vote of 4-3 failed to approve additional funds for Rescue.

"We can't run it alone," Rogers said. "Neither can the city."

Campbellsville Mayor Paul Osborne was out of town and not available for comment.

It's been suggested that Rescue be brought under either the city or county fire department, Rogers said. Even if that happened, he said, there still has to be adequate funding provided.

Rescue is taking in about $300,000 per year, Rogers said, which barely pays salaries and insurance. He said it will take another $480,000 or so to cover all other expenses.

"The sad part is that it didn't get this way overnight," Rogers said. "They had to borrow money to continue to service the county. Now is not the time to turn our backs on them."

Rogers said many members of Rescue who work long hours and make little money signed notes so the service could continue operating.

"They put their very livelihood on the line," Rogers said. "How many of us would do that?

"To me, this thing is broke. We need to fix it March 14."

(Fiscal court meets March 14. The meeting will be at the Taylor County Courthouse. It will begin at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.)

Rogers said he's not certain where either the city or county would get the money to fund Rescue. But, he said, a permanent solution has to be found. He suggested that the city and county agree to share the cost equally and establish a reasonable annual budget for the service.

The city and county are obtaining title to Rescue equipment for their money, Rogers said.

He also said it would be impossible for either the city or county to provide the service on their own for the same cost.

If the county doesn't agree to fund Rescue, service in the county could be cut off, Rogers said. He said those who make up Rescue are too civic minded to do that, but higher rates for county residents would be likely provided the service could find a way to survive.

It's likely that the occupational tax the city and county are sharing will provide enough money, Rogers said. He said that's not certain at this point because the tax is still relatively new and there's no track record of collections.

There will be no payments on the jail the county is building until 2002 or 2003, Rogers said, which will provide time to find a solution. He said the city and county will only receive three quarters of taxes this year because the tax wasn't imposed until mid-year.

Next year, the city and county will receive a full year's worth of taxes which Rogers said could very well be enough to operate Rescue. He also said that any changes which could be made to save money need to be studied.