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Newark council directs staff to start collecting state ambulance fee; vote unanimous
Summary
City council voted unanimously to begin collecting an existing $10 state ambulance fee on certain citations and remit it to the state, which will then allocate a portion back to local EMS providers including Aetna Hose, Hook & Ladder.
Newark City Council voted unanimously Monday to direct staff to implement an existing ambulance fee on qualifying citations and forward the proceeds to the State of Delaware for distribution to EMS providers.
Council members acted after a prolonged discussion with local fire and EMS representatives about how the state-administered pool distributes funds. The council’s motion was: “I move the council direct staff to implement the ambulance fee as outlined in the staff memo dated 05/13/2025.” The motion was seconded and passed on a vote of 7-0 (Councilwoman Ford, Councilman Bancroft, Councilman Brown, Councilwoman Creasy, Councilman Sahinick, Councilman Lawhorn, Mayor Travis McDermott all recorded as voting “Aye”).
The fee is a $10 charge historically applied to some moving-violation citations. When council first passed the fee as a local fundraising measure in 2020, state officials clarified that municipalities could not keep the full amount directly; instead, the state collects the money and redistributes it based on a formula administered by state agencies. Because of that process the city did not collect the fee after 2021. Councilmembers said resuming collection will likely increase the share that Aetna Hose, Hook & Ladder and other local providers receive through the statewide allocation.
Representatives of Aetna told the council that the apparatus and volunteers regularly respond to calls inside and outside the city and that any increase in the state pool would benefit local emergency services. Dan Seedorf of Aetna told council, “If you put that into the big scheme of things, it's maybe not a big number, but we just keep pushing that needle up. And every little bit helps.”
Council members asked staff to return details on how the fee will be implemented in city court, including a summary of other fees presently tacked onto citations so the council could review cumulative impacts on residents who pay fines. Councilman Lawhorn requested that staff provide “the summary of what all the fees are we add to tickets,” which staff agreed to supply.
The council and Aetna representatives also discussed the mechanics of statewide collections and whether greater municipal participation would change allocations. Speakers recommended continued legislative engagement to simplify the distribution or to explore statutory changes; Aetna representatives said they would support revisiting state code.
The council vote directs staff to begin collection under the existing local ordinance and to coordinate with state court processes and the State Fire Commission on remittance and tracking. Staff will report back with implementation details and an accounting plan.
