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Committee debates whether a $90,000 readiness fee fairly covers Fremont EMS costs
Summary
Brentwood members questioned a proposed $90,000 first‑year readiness fee for taking on Fremont calls, citing Brentwood’s $1.3M budget, estimated incremental staffing of about $300,000, and vehicle/equipment wear that complicate per‑call math.
Committee members scrutinized the arithmetic behind a proposed $90,000 readiness fee. Using Brentwood’s 2025 budget of about $1.3 million and roughly 1,072 total calls, one member calculated a per‑call cost that, when multiplied by Fremont’s ~431 calls, produced an estimated additional cost in the mid‑hundreds of thousands.
“Why would it be fair to Brentwood to do this for $90,000 plus ambulance revenue?” Chair (speaker 3) asked, noting the $90,000 figure would not cover fuel, vehicle depreciation or the majority of readiness costs. Other members pointed out that adding coverage for Fremont likely requires hiring additional personnel and increases wear‑and‑tear on apparatus — costs not captured by a simple per‑call division of the existing budget.
Members discussed alternatives: have Brentwood keep patient revenues and charge a lower readiness fee, or require Fremont to retain revenues while paying a larger fixed contract. The subcommittee agreed more precise cost modeling and RFP comparisons are necessary before recommending a contract price.
