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Fire chief asks for 18 hires, ambulance replacements and paramedic training plan
Summary
The county's fire and EMS chief told commissioners he needs 18 additional staff to put two personnel at every fire station, plus funding to address vacancies among paramedics. He proposed a mix of hiring, tuition assistance and incentives and outlined ambulance replacement and transport-mileage pressures.
Steve Stevens, the county's fire and EMS presenter, opened a detailed discussion of staffing, vehicles and training needs for FY2026.
Stevens said the department has 45 allocated line positions with 21 currently vacant in field roles and many more vacancies at advanced (paramedic/advanced EMT) levels. He asked the board to consider adding 18 personnel to place two staff at every station and to fill remaining EMS positions so each ambulance has two crew. Stevens explained those 18 hires would translate into additional payroll and benefits and estimated the first-year cost (salary + benefits) at roughly $1.0 million.
Commissioners and staff discussed recruitment, retention and training. Stevens described a potential tuition-reimbursement model to subsidize paramedic training (he cited $7,500 as a representative tuition figure) with a repayment or service-commitment schedule to reduce turnover after training. Commissioners asked how many employees are enrolled in certification pathways; Stevens said four employees had engaged in training toward higher certifications.
The chief also reviewed vehicle and equipment needs. He described remounting ambulances and replacing apparatus over a steady rotation rather than ad hoc buys, and he gave a range for a full ambulance replacement including chassis and box at roughly $350,000 to $400,000. Finance staff reported EMS billing collections and a recent billing vendor change have boosted collections to approximately $1.0 million year-to-date against a $1.2 million budget baseline.
No formal appropriation was approved at the work session. Commissioners asked the department to provide precise cost schedules for hiring 18 positions, estimated ongoing salary and benefits, and a proposed tuition/repayment contract that legal could review before commissioners consider adding the positions to the advertised FY2026 budget.
