Monmouth County director highlights MedStar expansion, shared services and fiscal stewardship in 2026 address
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Summary
Commissioner Director Tom Arnone used the State of the County address to spotlight growth in MedStar emergency services, expanded shared services with all 53 municipalities, and continued fiscal measures including a roughly $520 million budget and targeted grant funding.
Commissioner Director Tom Arnone told a packed audience that Monmouth County will continue to invest in public safety, shared services and long-term fiscal planning in the county's 2026 State of the County address.
"MedStar began answering calls for service on 02/05/2024," Arnone said, and described rapid program growth: "As of today, MedStar program employs over a 150 personnel, has 30 ambulances, and has answered calls for service in 40 separate municipalities." He credited the sheriff's office leadership and said the program improved response times to "5 minutes and 27 seconds" while handling more than 10,000 calls in 2025 and projecting roughly 20,000 calls in 2026.
Arnone also outlined revenue tied to those services, saying EMS insurance reimbursements totaled $2,800,000 in 2025 and the county received $7,900,000 in health-care rebates attributed to prior claims. He described the county's billing practice as "soft billing" of insurers, not direct billing of residents: "If the insurance companies don't pay, that's a dispute our administration will deal with, and if they don't have insurance, it goes away."
On the budget, Arnone said the county operates a roughly $520,000,000 annual budget and manages about 3,000 employees. He defended the county's decision to remain self‑insured for employee health coverage, arguing it yielded better long‑term outcomes than switching into the state plan. "We self insured ourself," he said, noting recent multi‑year increases from the state plan that municipalities were seeing.
A recurring theme of the address was shared services. Arnone said Monmouth County has shared‑service agreements with every one of its 53 municipalities and cited partnerships that include MedStar, the fire academy, engineering and fleet programs. He introduced Rob Ferregino as the county's new shared service coordinator and called the county the state's "gold standard" in shared services.
Arnone closed by emphasizing collaboration with municipal leaders, constitutional officers and nonprofit partners and enumerated upcoming community events, including a county gala planned for June 25 at Bell Works.
The county executive said next steps include ongoing budget work during 2026 and the continuation of grant-seeking and shared‑service initiatives to limit reliance on property taxes while maintaining county services.