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County moves to add sixth full-time EMT and to create standalone ambulance service director
Summary
Facing rising overtime and operational strain, the committee approved moving to the full county board a request to add a sixth full-time EMT to reduce overtime costs and to create and fill a separate ambulance service director position distinct from emergency management.
Richland County staff told the Executive & Finance committee the ambulance service is projected to far exceed its overtime budget this year and recommended creating one additional full-time EMT position and a separate ambulance service director position to improve day-to-day coverage and longer-term management.
The interim ambulance director said the department budgeted $55,000 for overtime but is on pace to reach roughly $110,000 this year because full-time staff are regularly picking up extra 24-hour shifts and the department currently has only five full-time EMTs instead of six. “In order to stop that and to become more consistent with your staffing, consistent with your budgeting, need to add the sixth position,” the interim director said, noting the county runs three crews and that a sixth FTE allows standard Kelly-day scheduling.
Staff proposed funding the new full-time position by reducing the paid-on-call budget line, which staff said is underutilized. The interim director told the committee the ambulance service does about 1,700 calls per year and that paid-on-call coverage alone no longer supports the call volume.
The committee approved forwarding the request to the full county board. On the director role, staff asked that emergency management and ambulance services be separated so the ambulance service would have a dedicated director focused on grant writing, program compliance and long-range planning. The committee voted to move the proposal to the full county board to create and fill the ambulance service director position; staff said the position is budgeted for next year with no levy impact in the ambulance budget.
When questioned about costs, staff explained the proposed budget modeling assumes full insurance costs to avoid underbudgeting if benefit elections change. The interim director said the modeled budget was intentionally conservative (full insurance for all staff), which raised the presented figures higher than current actual expenditures.
Committee members approved sending both staffing and position-creation requests to the full county board for final approval and appropriation.
