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Emery County officials weigh incentives and marketing to recruit EMTs as training and staffing lag
Summary
County and city leaders discussed EMS recruitment challenges: training scheduling and pass rates, county payment of training fees, and proposed incentives such as property‑tax writeoffs, rent support, and a marketing campaign that USU Eastern students could help produce.
County and city representatives told the council that local EMS systems are strained and that recruiting and retaining EMTs requires both schedule flexibility for training and financial incentives.
Commissioners said the county currently pays course fees, but training schedules and time commitments keep recruits from finishing. "The county pays the the fee," one participant said, and officials explained that many recruits sign up but later back out because "time constraint" or job schedule changes prevented completion.
To encourage completion, commissioners proposed several incentives: offering property‑tax writeoffs for individuals who complete EMT service, subsidizing rent or utilities while trainees finish classes, and exploring state tax‑credit proposals for first responders. One commissioner described a county program idea to offset property taxes or pay rent by $1,000–$2,000 per EMT as a recruitment incentive.
Class delivery and pass rates were discussed: committees reported evening classes (Monday and Friday) and options to attend via another town or Zoom, but pass rates and scheduling remain obstacles. Holly Smith, identified in the meeting as the training instructor, was named as the current class provider.
Outreach and marketing: Doug Miller offered Huntsman School marketing students to develop recruitment materials and messaging to pair emotional testimonials with financial incentives, while cautioning about HIPAA limits on using incident details. "If that's of interest, I have time as marketing students right now," Miller said, offering student projects to produce a marketing plan the council could deploy.
Next steps: Commissioners asked staff to research bill language for potential tax credits and to consider flexible class schedules (e.g., weekend intensive sessions) and property‑tax incentives. The council did not adopt a funding program at the meeting but encouraged follow‑up work with county staff and the training district.
