Merced County supervisors discuss six‑month EMS extension; City of Merced seeks limited ambulance use

Merced County supervisors discussed a proposed six‑month extension of the county's exclusive operating area emergency medical services (EMS) contract and fielded requests from the City of Merced to allow limited use of the city’s ambulance for urgent local transports.

The discussion centered on the EOA — the contract provision that reserves primary ambulance transport to the county’s contracted provider — and how to preserve countywide service while allowing the city to use its ambulance in narrowly defined emergency situations. “Removing the fines could potentially lead to a lack of compliance and no accountability for the system,” said Casey Wilson, fire chief with the City of Merced Fire Department, warning that loss of penalties could return the system to earlier staffing shortfalls.

Why it matters: county officials said the EOA helps sustain ambulance service across rural and urban areas by concentrating transport revenue with a single contracted provider, while the City of Merced warned that relying only on out‑of‑county mutual aid can delay advanced life support (ALS) care inside the city. That tension framed supervisors’ questions about whether a short, targeted exception or a surge policy could reduce long delays without undermining the EOA.

County EMS administrator Tim Williams explained the EOA and the mutual aid framework: “It’s the exclusive operating area. So, basically, what it says is that only our contracted provider can come in and provide services within the county of Merced.” Williams said the mutual aid system allows neighboring counties’ contracted providers to respond under existing agreements but warned that allowing noncontracted transports inside the EOA on a routine basis would destabilize the financial model that funds countywide service.

Supervisors and the fire chief discussed practical options already in use. Williams and Chief Wilson described a mechanism by which Merced City Fire personnel can request a Basic Life Support (BLS) transport from the contracted provider when fire personnel (often ALS first responders) have stabilized a patient on scene. Wilson said the city does not seek to transport patients daily, but wants the option to place a city ambulance into the system when critical patients face long waits for mutual aid: “We have the trained folks, and we have an ambulance. It is not staffed 24/7, but we have the ability to cross staff that and get that ambulance on scene, I would say, in less than 10 minutes, much quicker than mutual aid resources would be able to get on scene.”

Supervisor John McDaniel (first reference includes title): requested staff to develop a formal surge policy with a timeline before July 1, saying, “At minimum, I would like to see, staff directed to work on a surge policy for us with a timeline of before July 1 so that we have this in place.” That direction would seek clear triggers and operational parameters — for example, extended estimated times (ETs) above a set threshold or system‑status conditions — under which the city’s ambulance or other local resources could be used without breaking the EOA.

County staff clarified how penalties and fines are handled. A supervisor asked whether fines levied on the contractor could be used as leverage to maintain performance; staff replied that fines currently go into an EMS enhancement pool and would be a topic for the Emergency Medical Care Committee (EMCC) to consider.

What was not decided: the board discussion referenced a staff recommendation in the meeting packet and noted the item requires a manual vote, but the excerpted discussion does not record a formal motion or final vote on the extension. Several supervisors said they supported the extension pending the development of a surge policy or a narrowly defined exception; no formal action was recorded in the transcript excerpt.

Next steps and context: staff were asked to pursue development of a surge policy and to engage EMS stakeholders, including the City of Merced and the EMCC, on mechanics and triggers. County officials emphasized the intent to preserve the EOA’s role in funding countywide transport while addressing local public‑safety concerns about delayed ALS response times.

Ending: The board will return to the item for a manual vote and to review any staff recommendations or draft surge policies developed before the next meeting.