We don’t normally advocate growing government, but emergency medical service in Johnston ought to be an agency of county government, at least in the neediest of cases.

Already, Johnston taxpayers give their EMS squads hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. For that reason alone, they ought to be accountable to taxpayers through their county government.

Second, county oversight could very well make EMS service more reliable and more stable. A story in last week’s Herald noted that many part-time EMTs in Johnston work for a number of squads. Under the present arrangement, no one squad can afford to offer its part-timers benefits, including retirement plans. But jump ahead to July 1, when the county will take over the Benson and North Johnston EMS squads. Part-timers working now in, say, Benson, could also work for North Johnston, earning enough hours to become full-time employees with benefits.

Will that cost Johnston taxpayers more? Certainly. Then again, the Benson and North Johnston squads will be less likely to lose experienced EMTs to bigger, better-paying squads in other counties. That bodes well for the patients they serve.

Should the county suddenly take over every EMS squad in Johnston? We can see no reason for financially stable squads with stable staffs to come under the county’s bureaucratic umbrella. But if other squads out there need the county’s help to provide reliable, professional service, then they shouldn’t be ashamed to ask. After all, they are spending the county’s money and serving the county’s people already.