Baldwin County will not be getting into the ambulance service this year if the Board of Commissioners approves the recommendation of the county manager.
Carlos Tobar said last Friday that six proposals to provide ambulance service were received and that a decision on which direction the county would take would probably be made at a called meeting on Sept. 15. He said two proposals were pretty much the same.
“A couple of them basically tied. So, we will have to dig deeper into their proposals,” Tobar said, acknowledging that he and his staff had yet to review the documents.
Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for the emergency service were sent following receipt of an unexpected letter from Grady Emergency Medical Services (EMS) dated Aug. 1. The letter stated that the company would not renew its contract that expires Nov. 5. Grady EMS did, however, offer to continue service until the end of the year if needed.
Tobar said Tuesday morning that would not be necessary.
“The selected vendor intends to start at the conclusion of the Grady contract. Because of how shifts work, that may be Nov. 5 or 6,” he commented.
Both proposals called for identical funding support from the county.
“$195,000 net operating subsidy is what both proposed. That is identical to what Grady is charging,” Tobar said, adding that three ambulances would be housed in the county.
Four other companies – AmeriPro EMS, Central EMS, Amerimed, and AMR – submitted proposals, and all were significantly higher, the lowest being Amerimed’s $450,000 annually with three ambulances stationed in the county.
It is clear from the proposals of Atrium Health and Patriot that the companies intend to collect revenues from those transported, plus the $195,000 subsidy from Baldwin County. The other proposals with much higher costs to the county do not address the revenue.
Tobar said all six proposals were for the same contract periods.
“All of the proposals were for 3 +1 +1 years,” he said, giving the county two one-year options if it so chooses. “We can renew for a fixed price for five years if the contract renews automatically or if the option years are exercised.”
Tobar said he had worked diligently to prepare a budget for the county to operate the ambulance service, but it was not his plan to go that route.
“If their proposals look good, we’ll recommend they choose one of those two companies,” Tobar said. “We won’t be able to beat that price.”