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EMS director seeks new supervisor vehicle, three paramedic positions and equipment as ambulance costs rise
Summary
Erath County’s EMS director proposed moving supervisors into a supervisor vehicle to provide countywide coverage, adding three paramedic positions, and funding stretcher load systems and cardiac monitors as ambulance repair and supply costs rise. Commissioners discussed grant timing, replacement ambulances and staffing impacts.
The county’s EMS director told the Commissioner's Court on July 14 that a restructuring of field supervision and new equipment purchases are central to the department’s budget request.
"That supervisor would be going to every critical call in the county ... so there'll be somebody there 24/7 that can handle the day-to-day," the EMS director said, arguing a supervisor vehicle (a Tahoe) would let supervisors carry equipment—ventilators and ultrasound—without tying up frontline ambulances.
The proposal would move existing supervisors off trucks and into a vehicle that could respond across stations; the director said the shift could reduce the need to outfit every ambulance with duplicate high-cost equipment. He asked the court to approve creating three additional paramedic positions at the paramedic pay level to staff new shifts if supervisors do not fill the new roles. "We will hire three paramedics," the EMS director said.
The director also reviewed capital equipment needs tied to a recently ordered ambulance: stretcher-load systems and cardiac monitors, with one ambulance funded by a state grant and another through county funds. He said ambulance repair and supply costs have risen and noted it can take more than a year from order to delivery for new units.
Commissioners pressed on marketplace questions, including resale opportunities for older ambulance boxes, and on staffing availability. The EMS director said used-vehicle markets have tightened and that the county’s approach—ordering early and using grant opportunities—helped secure new units. Commissioners asked that the department provide follow-up details on exact equipment costs and on how the staffing change would be scheduled to preserve 24/7 coverage.
The court did not take a formal vote during the workshop; commissioners directed staff to include the EMS requests for further review in the next budget draft and to provide more detailed cost breakdowns and timing for ambulance deliveries.
