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Board approves budget amendment to add eight EMTs to staff second Prince Frederick ambulance
Summary
Following a public hearing, the Board of County Commissioners approved budget amendment BA2025000352 to add eight full-time emergency medical technician positions to staff a second 24-hour ambulance at Prince Frederick; county expects costs to be offset by ambulance billing revenue.
After a public hearing on April 8, the Calvert County Board of County Commissioners approved a resolution and budget amendment (BA2025000352) to add eight full-time emergency medical technician (EMT) positions to staff a second 24-hour ambulance at the Prince Frederick Volunteer Rescue Squad.
Department of Public Safety officials told the board the positions are required to assure continuous staffing of the second crew and to reduce heavy overtime and reliance on temporary workers. Crystal Dowd, deputy director for public safety, said the additional eight full‑time positions are sized to cover the rotation for a continuously staffed ambulance (two providers per 24‑hour shift, covering four rotating shifts). “The revenue collected from this program is required to offset the cost of emergency medical services salaries, operations and equipment,” Dowd told commissioners during the hearing.
Fiscal details and funding
- Annual cost: staff estimated the recurring annual cost of the eight FTEs at $769,370.
- FY2025 amendment: the board approved an immediate budget amendment to increase the salary line by $930,510 to fund the remainder of FY2025 and to cover overtime and temporary-staff expenditures already incurred.
- Funding source: staff and commissioners said the positions will be funded primarily from the county’s ambulance cost‑recovery (soft-billing) revenue collected by Career EMS; Dowd stated ambulance-billing revenue more than covers the cost of the requested positions.
Board action and rationale
A commissioner moved to close the public record and approve the resolution and BA2025000352; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote. No roll‑call tally was recorded in the meeting minutes; the board chair declared the motion carried.
Commissioners and staff discussed the longer-term staffing implications for other volunteer stations and acknowledged that additional career crews may be requested in coming budget years as volunteer capacity declines in some areas. Chief Miller (Fire/EMS) said the fully burdened capital and operating cost to place a career ambulance and crew in service can approach $1.3–$1.4 million when apparatus replacement is included.
Quotes
"The revenue brought in from career EMS from ambulance billing more than covers the cost of these positions," Crystal Dowd said during the hearing.
"In order for an ambulance to function, you have to have eight personnel to get through a week of shifts," staff explained during commissioners’ questions about the eight‑person staffing figure.
Ending
The board approved the amendment and directed staff to proceed with hiring; staff said temporary positions will be released as the new FTEs are onboarded. Commissioners noted continued financial planning will be needed as more career crews are added to meet call volume countywide.
