Jefferson County commissioners approve $300,000 ambulance contract, adopt sheriff pay chart and clear multiple licenses

Jefferson County commissioners on Aug. 12 approved a $300,000 ambulance service agreement with Central Fire Ambulance Service and adopted a revised step-and-grade pay chart for the sheriff’s office and jail, actions the board said will be incorporated into the county’s budget. The board also approved a series of retail alcoholic beverage licenses and other routine administrative items.

The ambulance agreement, moved by S2 and seconded by S1, was presented as a continuation of existing arrangements with adjustments to a fee schedule and expectations about transports. Commissioners discussed the county’s current transport volumes, Basic Life Support (BLS) versus Advanced Life Support (ALS) call coverage, and the prospect of private ambulance vendors. S2 moved “to approve the ambulance service agreement between Central Fire Ambulance Service and Jefferson County in the amount of 300,000,” and the motion passed on a roll call (ayes recorded).

In budget deliberations, S9 presented a draft county budget of $34,082,909 and noted an estimated cash-forward of about $4,000,000. Commissioners debated whether to give a simple 2% across-the-board increase or adopt the newly modeled step-and-grade chart for the sheriff’s office and jail. The new chart, which compresses some grades and reduces outsized single-step increases, was described by S3 as producing a net budget difference of roughly $48,000 when compared with a straight 2% shift; S2 moved to adopt the chart and S4 seconded. The board directed staff to incorporate the approved rates into the final budget.

Separately, the board approved multiple 2024 retail alcoholic beverage licenses, including businesses referenced by S2 (motions were moved and seconded on the record and approved on roll calls). The board also approved certificates of residency for a group of students and approved the minutes of the Aug. 12 meeting after a minor wording correction was recorded.

What’s next: Staff will incorporate the approved ambulance contract costs and the adopted pay chart into the final budget figures and present the updated budget at the upcoming budget hearing. Several items—such as contract clarifications for ambulance fee schedules—were discussed as ongoing issues for staff review.

Attribution: Quotes and attributions in this item are limited to the meeting record (S1–S9) as captured in the transcript.