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Taos County commission approves purchase of replacement ambulance using legislative funds
Summary
The commission approved purchase of a new EMS unit to replace a 14-year-old ambulance with ~188,000 miles; county staff said legislative funds cover the purchase and cited about 5,000–6,000 EMS calls in 2025 as justification.
Deputy Chief David Verelam, identified in the meeting as the Deputy Chief of EMS operations for Taos County, presented a request to the commission to approve purchase of a replacement ambulance, describing the unit to be replaced as 14 years old with nearly 188,000 miles and frequent repair needs. He told the commission that the funding for the new unit comes from legislative funds already allocated and that procurement will use BuyBoard contract 740-5204.
Verelam said the EMS system had a high call volume in 2025—"we surpassed the 5,000 call volume" for county EMS and approaches 6,000 calls when including voluntary districts—underscoring the operational need for reliable vehicles. Commissioners asked questions about call volumes and thanked staff for the work.
A commissioner moved and the commission approved the request to purchase the ambulance; the meeting record shows the motion, a second, and a roll-call with unanimous affirmative votes as recorded.
The commission did not provide additional programmatic direction on EMS staffing or future capital purchases at this meeting.
