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Osceola County supervisors discuss EMS director pay, opioid funds for life-saving monitors and CPR devices
Summary
Supervisors discussed how to advertise the EMS director position, current pay and hours, and a request to use opioid settlement funds to purchase a Lifepak 35 monitor and two Lucas CPR devices. No final spending vote was taken; staff were asked to return with more information at a follow-up meeting.
Osceola County supervisors spent substantial time discussing the EMS director position, comparators for pay and hours, and a staff request to use opioid funds to buy a Lifepak 35 cardiac monitor and two Lucas automated CPR devices.
Sandy, who identified workplace duties and current pay, told the board she is currently paid $25.12 per hour and works roughly 30 to 32 hours a week. She said comparable EMS directors in nearby areas earn "anywhere from $70,000 to $100,000 a year" depending on population and call volume, and that one nearby director is paid "in the upper $70,000s." Sandy said the county's ambulance service handled roughly 571 calls last year and has been near 600 calls in some recent years.
On equipment, Sandy asked supervisors to consider using opioid funds to purchase a Lifepak 35 advanced patient monitor and two Lucas automated CPR devices. She said the vendor, Stryker (EMS1 pricing), quoted a total cost of about $110,000, and that trade-in credits on the county's older devices would reduce the out-of-pocket price to about $84,000. "If we put in like a 40 or $50,000 down payment this year, then next year we can allocate some of the opiate money that will be in that account toward paying that off," Sandy said, outlining a payment plan in which roughly $8,000 per year could be applied over the following years.
Sandy said the county's two existing Lucas devices are now obsolete and have no available parts; the devices and monitor were originally obtained in 2016 with a charity/grant award. She described the new devices as frontline tools that would be used on cardiac arrests and many overdose responses and stressed that the Lucas devices provide consistent, fatigue-free compressions that protect providers from injury.
Sheriff Kevin said the department would not pursue a K-9 drug dog program, noting his deputies are seizing significant quantities of drugs without a canine and expressing concern about the upkeep and maintenance of a dog. Kevin's remarks were cited during the discussion of how remaining opioid funds might be spent.
Supervisors asked for more financial detail and operational information before committing funds. One supervisor expressed frustration that equipment replacement had not been budgeted earlier and questioned whether to deplete opioid funds for equipment. Another said that, while not opposed to updating equipment, the board should finalize the path forward before committing funding.
The board set a follow-up discussion on opioid fund use and the equipment quote for September 30 (the board discussed scheduling in late September/early October), to allow staff to provide additional detail on available opioid funds, expected future receipts, alternative grant options and the vendor quote timeline (vendors may raise prices in October). The vendor's trade-in offer and quoted price were a reason supervisors wanted the next discussion to occur promptly.
No formal vote to spend opioid funds occurred at this meeting. Supervisors instead directed staff to return with detailed financial information and options for payment or multi-year allocation before any final appropriation from the opioid fund.
