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Taylor County approves five-year EMS contract with Tarrant County EMS
Summary
On Sept. 24, 2024 the Taylor County Commissioners Court voted 5-0 to approve a five-year emergency medical services agreement with Tarrant County EMS that commits to three full-time ambulances, reporting requirements and standard termination clauses.
Taylor County Commissioners Court voted 5-0 on Sept. 24, 2024 to approve a five-year emergency medical services agreement with Tarrant County EMS that staff said will provide three full-time ambulances and three staffed stations to serve the county.
County counsel and procurement staff told the court the contract follows a request-for-proposal process with three respondents and preserves the county's ability to terminate for non-appropriation or breach. "What we have is an agreement setting forth the terms — it's basically three full-time ambulances," said Mister Stamey, who presented the contract and explained reporting and accountability provisions. The agreement includes routine termination and non-appropriation clauses, staff said.
Commissioners asked whether state deployments or interfacility transfers would reduce local coverage; Tarrant County EMS representatives said trucks dedicated under the contract are restricted to 911 responses and that deployments for state requests would not remove required local resources. "Anytime we do a state deployment, that's a request of the state; we don't ever take away resources from the county that we're obligated to provide," one representative said.
The court also discussed whether county commissioners should serve on the Tarrant County EMS board; several members cautioned that board service could create a conflict if the county later solicits bids and that monitoring obligations are addressed through contractual reporting. The court approved the contract on a motion from Commissioner Bertram with a second from Commissioner Kendrick.
The agreement as presented will be executed consistent with the terms included in the RFP and the negotiated exhibits; staff said the county will review service reporting during the contract term and renegotiate price terms if the contract extends beyond the initial five years.
The court's action was a formal approval of the contract; implementation steps include execution by the county judge and procurement staff and monitoring of vendor reporting as required by the agreement.
