Chilton County commissioners to authorize chairman to negotiate ambulance service after RFP drew no viable bids

Chilton County commissioners said they will ask the chairman to negotiate directly with certified ambulance providers after a public request for proposals drew no usable bids, with any final contract to return to the Commission for approval.

Commissioner Butch Billingsley said the county posted an RFP seeking a private ambulance operator and that the deadline, posted at the courthouse and on the county website, passed with insufficient responses. "We did not receive what we were really wanted to on it," Billingsley said, and he told the Commission he will ask "to appoint chairman Williams to contact an ambulance service that's certified in this county to see if we can negotiate with them for supplying ambulances in this county."

The move follows discussion at the work session about procurement timing and the county's options. A Commissioner noted a local court case in Mobile that, according to the meeting, allows local governments to negotiate directly with ambulance services rather than operate an in‑house provider. Commissioners described the next step as "plan B": authorize the chairman to start negotiations and return any negotiated agreement for a public vote. "And no decision will be made until it come back to this commission to vote on," a commissioner said.

Commissioners and other speakers discussed likely funding realities: county officials said a contracted ambulance service would almost certainly require a county subsidy and that the county must identify a funding source before executing a contract. "You're not gonna have a contract ambulance service that doesn't have a subsidy coming from the county," one commissioner said. Commissioners said they have discussed possible funding mechanisms but offered no guarantee that a subsidy is in place.

The Commission did not vote during the work session. Billingsley said he will present a resolution at the Commission's regular meeting to authorize the chairman to begin negotiations. Any negotiated agreement would return to the Commission for public consideration and a formal vote.

Background: Commissioners said the effort to secure ambulance coverage has been ongoing since the current Commission took office and that obtaining a reliable, funded contract is a multi‑step process. Commissioners said the RFP was posted at the courthouse and on the county website but that timing and possible confusion in the RFP may have limited responses. They emphasized the county will not finalize any contract without a future Commission vote and with confirmation of budget availability.

Looking ahead: Billingsley said he will present the draft resolution at the Commission's regular meeting. The Commission asked county staff to assemble information on potential funding sources before any vote.