Aberdeen council approves ambulance, utility and low-income rate ordinances; Forge Fiber franchise fails

Aberdeen City Council on June 24 approved three ordinances affecting ambulance billing, utility discounts and low-income rate remissions and approved an intercity EMS agreement — but rejected a proposed franchise with Forge Fiber 37 LLC.

The council voted to adopt: (1) Ordinance (Bill 26-11) establishing lift-assist penalties at licensed health-care facilities and extending certain utility-rate discount programs to ambulance and emergency medical services utility bills; (2) an amended ordinance updating the city’s ambulance bill charity program (Bill 26-05); and (3) an amendment to AMC 13.64 extending low-income senior citizen rate remission to include low-income disabled citizens (Bill 26-10). Each item was taken as a second reading counted as a third and recorded in roll-call votes by the council.

Council also approved a 2026–2028 EMS agreement between the city of Aberdeen and the city of Cosmopoulos after the council adopted an amendment correcting a typographical invoicing date from the contract’s text (changing the invoice date from the transcript’s erroneous “50th” to the 15th of each month). The EMS agreement was approved as amended.

A separate franchise measure with Forge Fiber 37 LLC (Bill 26-08) failed after council discussion identified gaps in the draft agreement. At the hearing one council member raised concerns that the document appeared to grant franchise rights that were not clearly documented and said the council needed clearer language to establish what, if any, rights the city is granting. In the recorded vote the motion failed (three yes, seven no), so the franchise was not approved.

What passed (roll-call summaries) - Bill 26-11 (lift-assist penalties / utility discount to EMS): Approved (recorded roll call showed affirmative votes by the council members recorded during the session). - Bill 26-05 (ambulance bill charity program, amended): Approved (recorded roll call affirmative). - Bill 26-10 (low-income rate remission to include disabled citizens): Approved (recorded roll call affirmative).

What failed - Bill 26-08 (Forge Fiber franchise agreement): Failed in roll-call vote (three yes, seven no). Council members who voiced opposition during discussion cited unclear or undocumented franchise rights and asked for revisions before reconsideration.

Next steps The council took several items as final readings and approved them during the meeting; items that failed or where staff recommended revisions will return to council for further consideration if refiled. The EMS agreement will proceed as authorized for staff to finalize with Cosmopoulos.

Sources: Aberdeen City Council meeting transcript, June 24, 2026 (public hearing segments, roll-call votes).