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Boulder council approves roughly doubled ambulance fees to reduce a budget shortfall
Summary
The Boulder City Council voted 4-0 to raise ambulance service charges — BLS $1,100; ALS $1,300; mileage $20 — after the Ambulance Director presented comparative rates and the city clerk said the increase would shrink a roughly $26,000 shortfall to about $4,000.
The Boulder City Council approved an increase to ambulance service rates on July 21, 2025, following a presentation by Ambulance Director Molly Carey and financial context from City Clerk/Treasurer Rosemary Perna.
Carey said a billing-service spreadsheet prepared by Pinter showed the Citys current rates lagged peers and recommended new charges: Basic Life Support (BLS) transports at $1,100 and Advanced Life Support (ALS) at $1,300; a mileage rate of $20 per mile; and flat supply fees ($100 for BLS, $150 for ALS). Carey noted additional fees could be charged for special services. Perna told the Council that, using last years collections, the Ambulance Department faced about a $26,000 revenue shortfall; with the proposed increases the projected shortfall would shrink to about $4,000.
Council President Drew Dawson framed the change as necessary because the ambulance operates as an enterprise fund that should be largely self-sustaining. Councilmember Patricia Lewis expressed concern that residents experiencing financial hardship could struggle to pay increased bills; Perna said the City would present a contract at a future meeting to send delinquent accounts to collections and that the Council could choose to write off debt in hardship cases.
Councilmember Mike Taylor moved to accept the rate increases as presented; Tim Graff seconded. The motion carried 4-0.
Perna said the City will present a collections contract to the Council at a future meeting; the Council did not adopt an explicit hardship or waiver policy at the July 21 meeting.
