Troy council approves Star EMS contract after RFP that produced a single bid; Universal Ambulance says technical upload error prevented its proposal

Troy City Council voted Aug. 25 to award emergency medical services (EMS) to Star EMS under a two‑year contract with up to three additional one‑year renewals after a city RFP drew a single responsive bid. The council approved the measure on a unanimous voice vote after months of review and public comment.

City staff and council framed the decision as an effort to reduce response times for priority 1 medical calls. According to the proposal and committee briefing, the initial deployment is performance‑based and requires Star EMS to meet a 90th‑percentile travel time target of six minutes for priority 1 calls; if that standard is not met during the evaluation period, the city can require Star to switch to a dedicated ambulance deployment (described in committee documents as the “5‑day/4‑night” advanced life support staffing option).

The EMS procurement drew public comment from representatives of the incumbent provider, Universal Ambulance. Vince Warrias, acting director of EMS for Universal, told council that his organization “was unable to upload our proposal to the platform” during the RFP window and asked the city to consider allowing Universal to “come to the table to discuss extending our current contract.” Universal president Duncan Walker said the company’s local performance averages are strong: “we're currently averaging anywhere from 5 to 5 and a half minutes for our response time,” he said, and offered to make staff and data available to the city.

City officials and procurement staff reviewed the BidNet/Mitten submission logs after the public comment. Emily Frontera, representing BidNet Direct, said the vendor’s IT review “did not find any issues” and that the system shows login and submission events for proposers. City Manager Frank Nastasi told council the RFP “was open for 25 days and everything's audited,” adding that the committee concluded there was not adequate time to accept late corrections in the final hour the system was open.

Officials described the deal approved by council as a near‑term step rather than a final, long‑term policy change. The EMS committee — made up of representatives from the city manager’s office, fire, police, communications, finance and purchasing — recommended Star EMS after a site visit and follow‑up meetings. City staff said the approved contract structure gives the administration operational discretion to require a switch from a performance model to a dedicated rig model if performance targets are not met; staff said they expect monthly reporting and an informal evaluation window of roughly six months to assess performance.

Council members asked how the change would appear to residents and whether core dispatch and turnout processes would change. Staff said residents should experience little change in how they contact 911; Troy’s public safety communications center will continue to take calls and transfer medical incidents to the EMS provider. The city emphasized that Star EMS, under the performance model, would keep patient insurance reimbursements and that the city would pay the contracted subsidy for system performance and availability.

Universal representatives had also urged the council to consider using the contract extension provision in the incumbent agreement; staff confirmed the current contract expires Dec. 31 and includes language allowing up to three one‑year auto renewals, but said discussions about that option had not occurred prior to the RFP process. The council’s motion did not take action on a contract extension for Universal.

The motion to approve “standard purchasing resolution 8, best value award for emergency medical services” was made by Council member Chanda and supported by Mayor Pro Tem Gunn. The vote recorded all members present as yes; the motion carried. City staff said they will continue to brief council on operational performance and on longer‑term options including possible in‑house service models.

The council and multiple speakers emphasized that improving outcomes — getting medically trained personnel to scenes faster — is the policy goal behind the procurement. Council members and staff repeatedly referenced the Fitch and Associates analysis the city used to evaluate options and said the award is intended to be a measurable step toward better response times while longer‑term planning continues.