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County to hire Center for Governmental Research to evaluate emergency medical services; $48,000 approved from contingency
Summary
The Tompkins County Legislature approved a consultant contract with the Center for Governmental Research to evaluate local emergency medical services and recommend options; the contract was funded at $48,000 from contingency to allow an expedited timeline before budget season.
The Tompkins County Legislature unanimously approved a member-filed resolution on June 3 to accept a proposal from the Center for Governmental Research (CGR) to evaluate emergency medical services (EMS) in Tompkins County.
Legislator Rich John, who moved the resolution, said municipalities and the county are seeing stress in ambulance services and that towns requested county assistance to study options. The CGR proposal will assess baseline EMS capacity, evaluate options for county involvement or expansion (including the county’s Rapid Medical Response program), identify regulatory or funding constraints, and recommend staffing and financing models.
The legislature added an instruction that the $48,000 cost be paid from the county contingency fund so the study could be completed in time to inform the fall budget cycle. County procurement counsel said the $48,000 amount falls below thresholds requiring a full RFP and can proceed on the basis of the submitted proposal; legislators who asked said they supported using CGR because the firm has done similar municipal work in the past.
Why it matters: Several towns reported rising mutual-aid demands and stressed volunteer and municipal ambulance capacity. The CGR study is intended to produce independent options and a fiscal analysis so the county and towns can decide whether to expand county EMS roles (including the possibility of county-conducted transports) and how to fund any change.
What’s next: CGR’s timeline presented to the legislature targets an August draft report so findings can inform budget discussions. The county will return recommendations and potential funding options to Public Safety and budget committees.
Ending: Legislators said the analysis would help the county decide whether and how to expand or alter EMS services and what funding mechanisms would be required.
