Ambulance response times are expected to improve in Pearl River County now that the county has added an additional ambulance from AAA Ambulance Service.

As part of the negotiations between the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors and Forrest Health to lease management of the Pearl River County Hospital and Nursing Home, Forrest Health agreed to provide an extra ambulance in the county, said County Administrator Adrain Lumpkin.

Previously, the county had four ambulances 24 hours a day and one 12 hour a day ambulance, said Lumpkin. The county never paid for ambulance service, but had always been limited to three or four ambulances, said Lumpkin. To add an ambulance to a shift, the county would have had to pay AAA Ambulance Service. As part of the lease agreement, Forrest Health will cover the cost of adding the additional ambulance. The county revised its contract with AAA Ambulance to account for the change during Monday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.

Before approving it, the Board entered executive session to discuss the contract, as well as personnel matters in the road department.

In a separate matter, the Board approved interlocal agreements with Lumberton, Poplarville and Picayune to collect tax levies for the cities. The contracts are for over $7.5 million of real, personal and mobile home taxes and over $2.5 million of motor vehicle taxes. The county receives a 3 to 5 percent commission for its services.

The contracts for real property were first entered in 2008, and the motor vehicle contracts were entered even earlier. The Board has been reviewing all of its existing contracts because it began a new term in January.

In other business the Board:

—Approved a pay application for $188,675 of the $7.2 million contract with Hanco Corporation for construction of the new County Courthouse Annex.

—Approved a $4,190 change order for the contract for the County Courthouse Annex to relocate a service counter and millwork from the chancery reception/work room to the court support storage room. The contract change order will not increase the contract time. The County Courthouse Annex is scheduled to be complete by Feb. 29.

—Renewed the county’s annual maintenance agreement with Esri for $26,493. The company provides system maintenance for the GIS Department.