Ocean Shores finance staff told the finance committee on Aug. 28 that Fire District 7 owes the city $47,209.05 for ambulance calls originating in Ocean Shores that the city responded to and billed to the district.

The finance presenter said the unpaid balance is a cumulative total for four current invoices plus earlier past-due charges and that the city has sent a second letter of demand. "In the transparency, currently, District 7 owes us $47,209.05," the presenter said.

The city’s presenter said city staff had worked with their ambulance-billing vendor after a 2024 systems transition to collect payments and that, after billing problems were resolved, District 7 began disputing invoices. "This is a problem. We know it's a problem. And in a transparent way, we are trying to address the problem," the presenter said.

Why it matters: The presenter warned that unpaid ambulance-billing revenue affects the city’s utility and public-safety finances and could complicate requests for additional firefighting staff. The presenter also cited a clause in a 2021 interlocal agreement that District 7’s leadership has relied on to refuse payment for invoices the district says were billed later than allowed under the contract.

What the city has done: Finance staff said they sent a formal letter of demand and included county commissioners, the city prosecutor and other officials on the correspondence. The presenter asked Commissioner Raines to forward the city’s demand and the district chief’s response to the county prosecutor for legal review. The presenter told the committee the city had warned District 7 that failure to remit by the stated deadline would trigger assessment of interest and potential transfer of the debt to collections.

District 7’s position, as relayed to the committee, is that a paragraph in the interlocal agreement bars responsibility for invoices billed more than six months after the service date. The presenter said the city’s attorneys have reviewed the clause and advised that public entities generally cannot gift services or funds to other public entities and that the clause ‘‘is not legal’’ as written.

Details and rates: The committee heard that the city’s 2024 transport rate billed to District 7 is $533 for transports outside city limits and $266 for non-transport meetings/meetups. The presenter said $19,020 of the disputed 2024 amount was discovered and billed; the remainder is for 2025 invoices District 7 chose not to pay.

Next steps: The finance presenter said staff have asked for the district’s attorney contact information and have involved the county prosecutor; the matter may require legal adjudication if the parties cannot agree. City staff emphasized they will not cut emergency medical service because of the billing dispute and that their actions are focused on recovering revenue while preserving life‑safety response.

Ending: Committee members praised staff for pursuing the matter; no formal vote was taken and the committee directed staff to continue collection efforts and to coordinate with the county prosecutor on the contract interpretation and possible remedies.