EMS chief: call volume up, state will shift reporting costs to county

Emergency management and EMS staff told the board Monday that emergency call volumes have climbed and that program costs are shifting to the county.

"Over the past calendar year, call volume has basically increased about 10%," said Mr. Emerson, who presented on fire and EMS operations. He told supervisors the board should expect higher operating demands: call volume is up about 50% since 2018, volunteers now answer under 9% of calls, and revenue recovery through billing was reported at $563,000 to date with a net collection rate of about 59.7 percent. Emerson said the county has completed state and federal licensing required for a mandated EMS pharmaceutical program and plans to implement it by April 15.

Emerson urged the board to discuss staffing models to move from contract providers to county employees and to address physical needs such as apparatus space: "we're going to have to come up with a solution to get those apparatus out of the weather," he said. He also warned that the state will stop funding the electronic patient-care reporting system on July 1, meaning the county will need to absorb that cost or find alternatives. Board members asked for comparative collection-rate data and options for regional cooperation, and staff said they would follow up with requested metrics.

What's next: staff said they will meet individually with supervisors to refine staffing and deployment models and return with specific budget implications for the FY26 process.