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Beaufort County EMS seeks move to 24/72 schedule; committee asked to support budget inclusion
Summary
EMS leadership told the committee that staff exhaustion and rising call volumes justify changing from the 24/48 schedule to a 24/72 schedule; staff requested that administration include eight funded positions in the FY 2026 budget and return with a resolution so hiring can begin.
Beaufort County EMS leaders told the Community Services Committee on March 3 that physical exhaustion, mandatory overtime and increased call volume have made it difficult to sustain the current 24/48 schedule and urged a transition to a 24/72 schedule.
Donna (EMS director) said the system’s workforce is showing signs of strain: "Exhausted and physically, mentally exhausted employees," she said, and described situations in which crews worked 48 hours on and 24 hours off and, in some instances, ran more than a dozen calls in 24 hours. Donna said EMS responded to about 14,200 calls in 2015 and 21,510 calls in 2024 — a 51% increase — without adding trucks or staff.
CFO Pinky and county finance staff outlined a plan to reclassify existing vacancies and request eight funded positions (three leadership positions and five full-time shift responders) in the FY 2026 budget. Finance staff estimated the FY 2026 cost for the eight positions — including salary, a 3% cost-of-living assumption and fringe at about 27% — at roughly $700,000–$725,000. Staff said current overtime totals about $3.3 million annually; unscheduled overtime comprises about 55% (approximately $1.76 million) of that amount. The county expects overtime costs to decline as shifts are staffed under a four-shift model.
Karen Morris, EMS training officer, and other EMS staff said the 24/72 model (often described as the industry “gold standard”) has helped other jurisdictions recruit and retain personnel. Karen described regional examples — including several North Carolina counties and Aiken County, S.C. — that moved to 24/72 and reported expanded applicant pools and improved staffing.
Committee discussion focused on budget timing, pay and implementation. Council members asked how the annual-salary model for shift workers would be preserved (staff said annual salary would be maintained and the hourly rate would be recalculated to reflect fewer paid hours worked); how quickly hiring could begin (staff said a resolution and budget commitment would allow advertising immediately and that implementation could aim for late summer with phased training); and how many total shift employees are needed at full staffing (staff said shift responders would grow from roughly 94 to 108 under the new model).
Several committee members signaled support for both including the positions in the FY 2026 budget process and forwarding a draft resolution so staff can begin recruitment; no formal committee vote was taken. County staff requested direction to the administrator to return with a resolution for committee review and to include the funding in the FY 2026 budget, and staff said they would provide detailed run-data per unit and peer salary comparisons on request.
No binding action was taken at the committee; several members asked staff to run parallel tracks (budget inclusion and a committee resolution) so hiring can begin promptly if council provides final approval.
