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EMS workers ask council to add 11 positions funded by increased billing revenues
Summary
Cleveland EMS representatives told council they need 11 additional positions in the 2025 budget to meet recommended staffing and improve outcomes, and proposed using increased ambulance-billing revenue to finance the hires.
A representative of the Cleveland Association of Rescue Employees told council that Cleveland’s emergency medical services need additional staff to meet operational targets and improve patient outcomes.
Timothy Summerfeld said paramedics, EMTs and dispatchers are highly trained and overworked. “During the October operational review, Commissioner Wheeler came in here and he told this body that he needs 315 EMS employees for 2025. Yet, he's been told that he's only going to get 304,” Summerfeld said. He asked council to amend the 2025 budget to add 11 EMS positions.
Summerfeld suggested a funding source for the request: higher billing rates and a new claims company have increased revenue, and he asked that a portion be reinvested in EMS staffing. “Our ask is that we take some of that money and reinvest it back in the EMS so that we can have more good outcomes,” he said.
Why it matters: EMS staffing levels affect response capacity, clinical availability for advanced interventions and overall public-safety outcomes. The speaker tied the request to a specific numeric shortfall that was discussed during the city’s operational review.
Council did not vote on a budget amendment during the meeting; the request was recorded in the public record for budget deliberations.
