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Committee forwards ordinance to route 911 medical calls to Richmond Ambulance Authority after split testimony
Summary
The Public Safety Standing Committee voted to forward an ordinance to the full council that would route emergency medical 911 calls to the Richmond Ambulance Authority. Administration officials opposed the change, citing higher costs and potential response delays; the ambulance authority argued it would add capacity and accuracy. Committee asked for more comparative accuracy and cost data.
The Public Safety Standing Committee voted to forward Ordinance 20260059 to the full City Council with a recommendation to approve routing emergency medical 911 calls for Richmond to the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA).
Director Stephen Willoughby of the Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response told the committee the administration opposes returning to a dual-center model. "The revision back to a dual center model proposed by the ordinance wastes taxpayer dollars, increases response time, and it's an inefficient method of addressing the patrons' concern," Willoughby said, citing licensing, infrastructure and training costs and independent quality-assurance processes used by the department.
Chip Decker, CEO of the Richmond Ambulance Authority, told the committee RAA can add capacity and call-taking accuracy and that RAA has accreditation and experience with the call-taking software. Decker said correspondence from the state requires PSAPs be trained in emergency medical dispatch but is silent on which local agency must provide it; "the state is agnostic about that," he said.
Committee members repeatedly pressed for comparative accuracy data and cost analyses to demonstrate whether accuracy rates have improved since the dispatch model changed on July 1, 2024. Several members said the materials provided by the administration did not clearly answer whether accuracy or response times were better under the current model and asked for more complete data before a final council decision.
The committee voted to forward the ordinance to the full council; recorded 'Aye' votes included Miss Abubakar, Vice Chair Lynch and Chair Trammell. The full council will take up the ordinance for final consideration.
