Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners agree to expand EMS staffing and equipment; county staff to reconcile hourly/overtime savings
Summary
During the March 22, 2022 budget workshop St. Mary's County commissioners approved a package of EMS personnel, equipment and vehicles combining recurring operating increases and one-time fund-balance items; staff will return with expected savings from reduced hourly/overtime use.
St. Mary's County Commissioners agreed during their March 22, 2022 budget workshop to a multi-part expansion of emergency medical services that includes new full-time staff, quality-assurance supervisory capacity and assorted equipment and vehicles. Commissioners and staff agreed to phase hires and reconcile expected reductions in hourly/overtime costs before finalizing recurring budget lines.
County emergency services leadership, represented by Mr. Walker, described an EMS system that has moved from largely volunteer to a hybrid model and told the board the system is "exceedingly labor intensive" and depends on a mix of full-time, part-time and hourly employees. Walker asked for new positions and equipment to stabilize operations; commissioners approved a reduced set of positions and items after discussion.
Key staffing changes discussed and approved by consensus included adding eight (8) full-time EMT positions and four (4) paramedics in a phased manner. The board also approved creating a quality-assurance supervisory role (requested at a higher grade but reduced to a grade 7 lieutenant-level equivalent during the meeting) to handle case reviews and personnel oversight. Commissioners and staff agreed the additional full-time hires should reduce reliance on hourly employees and overtime, and they asked finance to quantify those savings and reflect them in the operating budget.
Jody Kawosney and Chief Financial Officer Jeanette Cudmore provided a consolidated summary of the package: roughly $1.19 million in new recurring costs and about $408,000 in one-time items proposed to come from fund balance (the one-time items include uniforms, medical supplies, pre-employment screening and replacement/upgrade of vehicles). Commissioners left two EMS follow-ups (a reclassification of medical duty officers and a non-capital equipment line) for the appeals stage.
Commissioners emphasized the need to follow models used by neighboring counties, to work closely with volunteer rescue squads and to phase in positions so that overtime and hourly costs decline as permanent staff increase. Walker said that while the system has improved, sustaining it with primarily hourly staff is difficult: "We are making it work without real employees," he said, arguing for a planned path toward a stable, staffed division.
Staff were directed to return at appeals with a detailed calculation of expected reductions to hourly and overtime costs after the proposed hires, and with final vehicle and equipment pricing prior to purchase.
