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Council introduces ordinance to charge residential care providers for nonemergency “lift assists”
Summary
City council introduced Ordinance 25-10 to authorize a fee billed to residential care providers when fire or EMS crews perform nonemergency “lift assists.” The measure was introduced for public hearing at the next meeting; no vote on final adoption occurred.
Franklin City Council introduced Ordinance 25-10 on Oct. 6, 2025, to allow the city to charge a fee to commercial residential care providers when fire or emergency medical services respond to nonemergency “lift assists.” City Attorney Lynn Gregg presented the measure and said the ordinance would be billed to the provider, not the resident, and would include a waiver and an appellate process to the Board of Works.
The ordinance was introduced by title only for a public hearing at the council’s next meeting. Gregg told council members that the fire department distinguishes “EMS calls,” which the city will continue to treat as emergency responses, from “lift assists,” which are generally nonemergency calls to pick up or reposition residents. Gregg said department records show 19 lift assists in 2023, 28 in 2024 and 67 year-to-date in 2025.
Gregg told the council the provision mirrors ordinances recently adopted in Westfield and Greenwood and that city staff do not expect the charge to be a major revenue source. “I don’t think this will be a moneymaker for us, but what I do think it will do is stop the calls as much that are happening before,” Gregg said. The ordinance would allow the fire chief, deputy chief or supervising officer to waive the fee in cases they deem legitimate; anyone billed could appeal to the Board of Works.
Deputy Chief Stark prepared the EMS call tallies presented during the introduction, according to Gregg. The council did not vote on final adoption of Ordinance 25-10 on Oct. 6; the item was placed on the calendar for public comment and a hearing at the council’s next meeting.
