Red Springs managers, fire chief differ on cost of town-run EMS; town may need tax increase

At a budget workshop on April 21, 2026, Town Manager Shanelle Harris presented a six-month startup plan and a projected full-year cost of $571,846 to operate a town-run Emergency Medical Services unit, and said that if the town assumed EMS operations it would likely need to raise the tax rate to cover ongoing costs.

Manager Harris told the Red Springs Board of Commissioners that her projection included a refurbished-ambulance purchase, personnel costs with fringe and FICA, daily operations, medical supplies, vehicle maintenance, insurance, communications and billing software, and staffing for a full-time EMS director. She said Robeson County currently lacks available ambulances to provide to the town and that county collection shortfalls on Medicare-allowable charges reduce expected revenue collections.

Public Safety Officer John Ammons (identified in the transcript also as Fire Chief Ammons) responded that some of the manager’s numbers were not accurate and that the figures appeared tied to rescue-squad funding rather than a fire-department-operated EMS. Chief Ammons said the fire department already has many supplies, patient-care reporting devices and software, and iPads for vehicles, potentially lowering startup and recurring costs. He estimated a used ambulance purchase could range from $35,000 to $200,000 depending on condition and reiterated that the department could use existing equipment; he said medication stocking for paramedic-level service would cost about $159 to equip an ambulance.

Manager Harris asked Chief Ammons to provide his detailed projections for consideration at the next budget meeting. No formal decision or vote was taken on establishing town-run EMS during the workshop; the board was warned that adopting the service under Harris’s estimate would require additional revenue, likely through higher taxes.