Carmel approves five-year contract with Monterey for fire and ambulance services

The Carmel-by-the-Sea City Council on Sept. 9 approved a five-year agreement with the City of Monterey for Monterey Fire Department to provide fire and ambulance services to Carmel, funding the contract at roughly $5.5 million per year and targeting service start on Oct. 1.

City staff said the contract addresses long-running staffing shortfalls and preserves the city’s ambulance operations while adding systemwide improvements. Acting City Administrator Brandon told the council the city will retain ownership and management of the firehouse building and revenues collected there, while ambulance operations will be provided by Monterey under the agreement. "The building is still gonna be managed by the City of Carmel by the Sea," Brandon said during the presentation.

Nut graf: Council members said the contract is intended to provide continuous ambulance coverage, put a paramedic on the fire engine to maintain advanced life support when the ambulance is committed elsewhere, and reduce the number of times the town’s ambulance is out of service for staffing. Chief Miller of the Monterey team described the staffing plan and how the model will keep paramedic-level care available in town.

The agreement sets a five-year term with funding described in staff documents at about $5.5 million annually. Staff said the ambulance will still be based in Carmel’s firehouse and the personnel will largely remain local, but employed by Monterey Fire under the contract. Chief Miller described an implementation step to move one paramedic from the ambulance to the engine so the engine will operate as an advanced life support (ALS) unit when the ambulance is away. “We are in the process right now of hiring 5 brand new paramedics and building our cadre of paramedic firefighters,” Chief Miller said, adding staff expect the engine to reach 24/7 paramedic staffing in the coming months.

Council members pressed staff on revenue recovery for transports outside city limits and on preserving the city’s revenue streams. Staff and Chief Miller said ambulance billing rates are tied to the county’s rate schedule, which is expected to rise, and that the city will pursue improved cost-recovery practices with regional ambulance providers for transports that occur while the Carmel ambulance is committed elsewhere.

Public commenters asked for operational transparency. Resident Ken White asked whether the city would provide monthly activity reports with time-to-arrival data like neighboring districts; staff confirmed monthly reports are provided to the council. Nancy Toomey offered public thanks to fire and ambulance personnel for their service.

The council voted unanimously to authorize the city administrator to execute the agreement. The motion passed by roll call: Barron, Bueter, Mayor Pro Tem Delves, Grama and Mayor Byrne voting yes.

Ending: Staff said they expect implementation logistics and staffing milestones to continue to be refined in the coming weeks and months. City staff and Monterey Fire officials committed to regular reporting and follow-up to the council as the contract implementation begins.