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Douglas County commissioners program contingency to add full Medic 6 and hold $1.7 million pending city decision
Summary
Commissioners agreed in principle to the "blue" EMS expansion option—adding a full 24-hour Medic 6—and to hold roughly $1.7 million in contingency while awaiting the City of Lawrence budget decision on its share.
Douglas County commissioners agreed Tuesday to pursue an expanded emergency medical services plan described in meeting documents as the "blue" option, which would add a full 24-hour medic unit (Medic 6) to the county's EMS system, and to hold about $1.7 million in the county contingency while the City of Lawrence completes its budget process.
The blue option was discussed as an alternative to the gray option already built into the proposed budget. Commissioners and staff identified the incremental county cost to move from the written-in gray level to the blue level as $979,312; the city's share of the blue scenario was shown in staff materials as roughly $561,085. Commissioners said they would program the full estimated service expansion cost into contingency so the county could act whether or not the city covers its portion.
The funding discussion centered on pacing the system expansion to avoid a steep one-year mill levy increase. Several commissioners said they favored phasing operations so the county would not be forced into a large mill-levy increase in a single year. Commissioners also noted uncertainty about whether the city would restore cuts that would affect joint fire and EMS governance and thereby change shared-cost obligations.
Staff said the blue option would increase total system operating costs to about $1.163 million in county impact for the full expansion scenario; the difference between gray and blue as shown on worksheets was $979,312. Commissioners asked staff to hold the $1.7 million total (the county portion, contingency for expansion and the city's potential share) in the commissioner's contingency line and to revisit the final allocation after the city's budget vote.
No formal vote was recorded; commissioners recorded consensus to move forward with the blue option as described and to hold the requested funds in contingency pending the city's decision. They directed staff to show the proposed contingency on the consensus worksheet and to reconvene the item after the city commission meets.
Commissioners said they also wanted clearer contingency language and future accounting so that, if the city restores service cuts or staffing that change the shared-cost split, the county's obligation and governance agreement implications would be explicit.
The item will return for final action after the City of Lawrence concludes its budget process and commissioners review a revised contingency plan and service agreement language.
