City and county review AMR ambulance contract after repeated missed response standards; takeover clause discussed

City and county officials told a joint March 10 work session that American Medical Response (AMR), the contractor providing ambulance transport under a city-authorized agreement, has failed repeatedly to meet contractual response-time standards and may face liquidated damages and remedial steps set out in the contract.

Brad Douglas, Las Cruces city attorney, summarized contract terms and next steps: AMR’s agreement includes zone-based response-time standards (85% in one zone, 90% in others), liquidated damages for missed calls, an ambulance-oversight committee (AOC) to evaluate compliance, and an emergency takeover provision that could be triggered if noncompliance persists. Douglas said AMR “may, at their discretion, terminate this agreement without cause as soon as July first of this year.”

County impacts and alleged damages

Stephen Lopez, Dona Ana County assistant county manager, said county fire and rescue units have absorbed a substantial transport burden because AMR could not respond. He said that, for the last four months of 2024, the county averaged about 225 transports per month that AMR could not complete; Lopez added that the county was foregoing an estimated $1.4 million in annual billable revenue because the county leases its ambulance certificate to AMR under the contract.

Brad Douglas presented reported liquidated-damage calculations from the city’s monitoring: roughly $450,000 alleged for quarter 1; about $973,000 for quarter 2 (uncontested as of the meeting); and about $867,000 for quarter 3 (figures described as administrative allegations subject to contract processes). Douglas said AMR had requested exemptions for only a small fraction of late calls in quarter 2 (about 283 of 2,607 late calls).

Contract remedies and readiness

Douglas explained the contractual escalation: if there is noncompliance for any three months in a 12-month period, AMR must be given a reasonable opportunity to correct the breach; noncompliance for six months in a 12-month period would authorize the AOC to implement an emergency takeover recommendation. The city attorney added that an emergency takeover provision would require rapid readiness because a takeover could need to occur within a 72‑hour window after the AOC’s finding.

Interim Fire Chief Sean Heck said the AOC — led by the Las Cruces Fire Department with participation from county and municipal chiefs — uses a third-party data platform (First Watch / OCU) to evaluate response-time data. Heck and city staff said the city and the AOC have not yet completed contested-exemption reviews for many late calls and that AMR has not delivered required plans for deployment and unit readiness in a timely way.

County and city preparedness

Lopez told the boards the county is acquiring additional fire-based emergency transport apparatus and expected delivery of three more units within about two weeks; with units at Sunland Park and Mesilla and the new apparatus, the county’s non-AMR transport capacity would increase. Heck said the Las Cruces Fire Department currently operates four rescue/ambulance units 24/7, with additional reserves and a plan to reach seven staffed units to meet city needs; staffing remains a limiting factor.

Several elected members called for rapid action. Commissioner Shannon Reynolds, who has reviewed historical AMR performance data, said AMR has not consistently met response standards in any year he examined. The boards asked staff to demand an AMR remediation plan this week and to prepare for emergency takeover readiness if remedial steps fail.

What was not decided

No vote was taken to terminate or to exercise the emergency takeover provision; the city and county indicated they will pursue contract remedies first and prepare operationally for a potential takeover or a different service model. The county’s lease of its ambulance certificate to AMR is set to expire around February 23, 2026, a date cited as relevant to longer-term options.

Ending

Officials closed the agenda item after directing staff to request remediation measures from AMR, verify exemption accounting for late calls, and prepare contingency plans for operating ambulance services on short notice if the contract remedies fail.