Pender County reviews Pender EMS transition, negotiates Union Rescue Squad contract as employees press for benefits and transparency

Pender County commissioners and staff reviewed the status of talks over a possible county takeover of Pender EMS and Fire and reported negotiated changes to a contract with Union Rescue Squad at a special meeting, while dozens of employees, retirees and residents urged a timely, transparent transition and better employee benefits.

County officials said work is under way to transfer records and financial information from Pender EMS and Fire to county staff and that a Union Rescue Squad contract was revised and returned to the squad's attorney for approval. The meeting included extended public comment from frontline employees who said they want transition to county employment to secure better health insurance and retirement options.

The possibility of moving Pender EMS and Fire under county control has drawn sustained public attention because it affects emergency medical response, employee compensation and the use of taxpayer funds. Speakers at the meeting said the debate has become polarized in recent weeks and urged county leaders to lay out a clear, implementable plan and hold public town halls.

County attorney Michael Mercerson said county staff has received a large volume of documentation from Pender EMS and Fire and that most non-IT records should be delivered to the county next week. Mercerson said some information sent to the county does not identify employees by name but includes classifications and a numerical identifier so staffing and pay can be evaluated without disclosing protected personal data.

Mercerson said the nonprofit Pender EMS and Fire conducts an annual comprehensive audit by contract, and those audit reports are submitted to the county and become public records. "It becomes a public record," Mercerson said, noting the most recent completed audit covered the 2023-24 period and that the current-year audit had not yet been completed.

On the Union Rescue Squad contract, commissioners said they had negotiated two specific changes sought by the squad: reducing a minimum staffing standard from 15 to eight and specifying that those eight be EMTs aligned with North Carolina Rescue Association standards, and increasing the county payment by $20,000. The revised contract has been returned to the squad's attorney for review and the county expects further response by Friday; no formal, final vote or adoption of the contract was reported at the meeting.

Frontline employees and residents dominated public comment. Tiffany Jasper, a shift EMS battalion chief with Pender EMS and Fire, said many of the emails the board received asking the county to move faster came from firefighters rather than EMS staff and reiterated a demand for transparency. "In February, we were assured by the commissioners this process would look out for the employees. It would involve transparency and allow taxpayers to see where exactly their tax money is going," Jasper said.

Ryan Johnson, a lieutenant in the department's fire division, urged the county to adopt fire services at minimum and said long-term employees lack competitive benefits. Speaking about insurance costs he said, "That's just just unacceptable," citing a staff claim that family coverage costs more than $1,700 a month for some employees.

Matt Sandlin, a long-time volunteer and career firefighter, said many in the fire division support transition and argued the move "should happen as quickly as reasonably and responsibly possible." Several speakers asked that current employees retain rank, pay and years-of-service credit if and when the county absorbs operations.

Other public commenters urged caution and thorough planning. Kip Boatwright, a retired Wake County EMS rescue chief, and Gary Poirier, who retired two years ago as director of human resources for Pender EMS and Fire, both recommended an outside, nonbiased study, a steering committee and public forums to avoid service disruption and protect employees during a complex merger.

Questions about what county staff are seeking and why some employee data has been withheld were frequent. A resident who said he had tried to obtain Pender EMS financial information observed that Pender EMS receives county funds and asked for clearer public accounting of how taxpayer money is spent. Merceronsaid pay classifications are not contained in the public audit but that county staff had worked out a way to share classifications and benefit figures in a manner that avoids releasing individually identifiable personnel records.

Commissioners and the county manager said they have a plan for the transition; the county manager told the meeting, "We've got a plan." Several commenters and commissioners asked the county to publish that plan, hold town-hall meetings on both sides of the county and provide firm timelines and benchmarks so employees can evaluate retirement and benefit outcomes before any formal transfer.

No formal votes or ordinances were adopted during the meeting. County staff said they will continue document exchange with Pender EMS and Fire and expect to provide a further update on outstanding IT records and a timeline once staff availability is confirmed.