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Brewster County judge: EMS contractor plans to leave; task force to recommend funding and delivery options in March
Summary
County Judge told the court the county’s current EMS provider is seeking to withdraw; the contract expires in May though the provider said it could extend while a solution is found. A task force meets Feb. 10 and will return recommendations to the court in March on whether to contract out or run EMS in-house and how to finance it.
County Judge (speaker 1) told the court that town halls on the EMS situation were well attended and that the county’s current provider is planning to get out "for business reasons, not performance reasons." He said the provider’s contract formally expires in May but that the provider offered to stay longer while the county works toward a solution.
"We're gonna lose our current provider sometime in late '26, early '27, and we're looking for the solution to replace that EMS provider," the judge said, adding that the primary obstacles are funding and the question of operating EMS in-house versus contracting it out. He noted a task force was meeting the same day at 2:30 p.m. to continue reviewing options and that the court expects recommendations in March.
Commissioners discussed financing options during the meeting. The judge noted a ballot measure could be required if the court chooses certain funding routes and said using tourism 'hot money' is legally complicated and likely to draw opposition from the lodging industry. The court did not take formal action beyond directing continued work by the task force; a follow-up recommendation is expected in March.
