Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Services Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
San Juan EMS outlines 2025 call data, equipment needs and proposes sales-tax ballot option
Summary
San Juan County EMS reported 2025 operations (591 calls; 449 transports), aging ambulances and under-reimbursement for Medicare/Medicaid patients, and asked the commission's permission to begin stakeholder outreach about placing a dedicated local sales tax (0.25–1.0%) on the ballot to fund EMS replacement and staffing.
San Juan County's emergency medical services presented a year-end report to commissioners on Feb. 3 and requested permission to begin stakeholder outreach about a possible dedicated local sales tax to support rural EMS operations.
Presenters reported 591 total calls in 2025 with 449 transports (only transported patients generate billable revenue); 142 calls ended without transport for a variety of reasons (refusal, no transport). EMS described an average unit-response metric of 5.7 minutes (from ambulance station to dispatch departure) and estimated on-scene arrival times of 10–20 minutes for many calls because of the county's geography.
Financial challenges included high fixed costs (rough estimate cited: about $1,883 per call based on prior-year call volume), a heavy share of Medicare/Medicaid patients (about 64% of calls) with low reimbursement rates (roughly 30–40% recovery of billed costs), aging ambulances and monitors, and rising replacement costs (ambulances purchased in 2019 for ~$200K–$250K are now $350K–$400K). Equipment monitors that once cost about $30,000 now approach $50,000.
Staffing remains a challenge: the service counts three full‑time employees and 37 part‑time staff who balance multiple jobs, creating daytime staffing gaps. EMS said increasing the number of full-time staff could reduce response times and improve consistency.
To address funding, EMS described a state-authorized option to place a dedicated local sales tax on the ballot for rural health (0.25–1.0%). Preliminary outreach and rough calculations suggested a 1.0% sales tax could generate roughly $1.2 million for the department, but presenters cautioned exact revenue depends on tax commission calculations and recognized exclusions (prepared foods and fuel). Commissioners advised EMS to develop clear public-education materials that show current general-fund subsidies, exact program needs, and simple examples of what the tax would cost residents.
Action requested: staff asked for the commission's blessing to begin stakeholder conversations with cities, hospitals and other partners and to assemble a champion group to help shepherd a ballot effort if supported.
Next steps: EMS will prepare outreach materials, request permission to meet with cities and other stakeholders, and return with more specific revenue modeling once tax-commission numbers are available.
