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Sunnyside council raises ambulance utility fee to $22.40 per ERU to fund EMS staffing and cover resident transports
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Summary
Sunnyside City Council voted unanimously to raise the ambulance utility fee to $22.40 per equivalent residential unit (ERU). City officials said the revenue will fund staffing and allow city residents who pay the utility to avoid out‑of‑pocket ambulance transport bills; implementation begins with April billing.
Sunnyside City Council on March 9 approved a change to the city’s fee schedule that sets the ambulance utility charge at $22.40 per ERU, a unanimous decision the council said will fund staff increases and allow city residents to avoid direct transport bills.
Chief Hoberg told the council the higher rate responds to rising costs for fuel, equipment and personnel and follows recommendations from a consultant. Hoberg said the revenue would be used to promote three existing staff members and hire two additional employees, and to improve the city’s Washington Survey & Rating Bureau (WSRB) metrics, which can reduce insurance premiums for homeowners and businesses. He said the change would let Sunnyside residents who pay the utility face no out‑of‑pocket transport charges for ambulance service; transports for nonresidents would continue to be billed normally.
In answering council questions, Hoberg said Sunnyside responded to about 4,401 incidents in 2025, with roughly 2,821 of those calls inside city limits. He and staff described ‘transport revenue’ — insurance and patient billing for trips to hospitals — as the principal outside funding source, and said the new fee is intended to stabilize operations so the city can provide transport services without additional direct cost to subscribing residents. The consulting forecast provided to council recommended smaller, routine increases in later years; any future change would require council approval.
Councilors pressed on timing and implementation. Staff said the fee ordinance would be published and the change would take effect in the next billing cycle, with the new rate appearing on April bills.
The motion to adopt the fee schedule and set the ambulance ERU charge at $22.40 carried by unanimous roll call.
The city will publish implementation details for residents ahead of the April billing and said it will use city communications channels to explain who is covered and how the no‑out‑of‑pocket transport benefit will work.
