Campbellsville City Council and Taylor Fiscal Court, in a joint meeting Tuesday night, gave final approval to ordinances accepting responsibility for Rescue.

Effective July 1, Rescue will become essentially a city entity with all administrative power lying with Mayor Paul Osborne and budgetary responsibility with both city and county.

The acquisition depends on three criteria that must be met by July 1. One, that all assets be transferred to the city and county or are in the process of being transferred. Two, that Rescue will dissolve its corporate status and three, that the agreement is filed and certified.

Rescue has continually had to ask for the financial help of both the city and county over the last few years.

"The only thing that was wrong with Rescue was that they were financially broke," Taylor County Judge/Executive Eddie Rogers said. "It's going to benefit the community and it's going to benefit the employees."

Rogers said the deal will benefit the employees of Rescue by enabling them to hire more people therefore cutting down the sometimes long hours that they work. He said Rescue is now looking for prospective employees, something that was much needed.

"They have not been able to be fully staffed," Rogers said. "They've been handcuffed for several years."

Rogers said that the agreement is better for everyone involved including the community.

However, Rogers said that Rescue's problems are not going to be solved simply by the agreement. It will take some time.

"Their debt was so big that, before, all we were doing was band-aiding it. It's not going to get well overnight."

The city and county will equally share in the cost of operating Rescue over and above what it can generate on its own. That cost is estimated to be $175,000 each.

City and county governments must also equally share in the cost of Rescue's outstanding debts, including a note for $315,000. The total comes to about $440,000.

All members of city council Tuesday night voted to approve second reading of the ordinance accepting responsibility for Rescue. Magistrate James Cochran, who has consistently opposed the idea, cast the only negative vote for fiscal court.