As Central EMS enters a 10th day as Augusta’s EMS provider, there remains no contract in place or price tag.
Augusta commissioners expected to review and possibly approve an EMS contract Tuesday but learned late Monday the details weren’t finalized.
“We’re still waiting for the committee, the administrator and her team, to come back and present a contract to the commission,” Mayor Garnett Johnson said after Tuesday’s commission committee meetings. “I knew last evening through an email that it would not be discussed today and that they’re still working out some details,” Johnson said.
Interim administrator Takiyah Douse requested to move the EMS contract to next Tuesday’s meeting. She chairs the subcommittee, which does not include the mayor or any commissioners, that’s negotiating a contract with Central.
Central EMS President Gary Coker said he expected agreement on a contract soon.
“There is no stall. Negotiations are ongoing and expected to be completed soon,” he said.
Augusta has been without a permanent EMS provider since January, when Gold Cross EMS turned in its state license. Gold Cross was operating on a month-to-month contract with the city worth about $1.9 million annually but as the city entered negotiations with Central, Gold Cross abruptly terminated service April 2.
The subsidy is intended to supplement what Central can’t collect from patient insurance. It could range from nothing to several million. Coker has said the company wants to make a 10% profit.
A city firefighters’ association announced Friday it was encouraging the commission to approve a “reasonable subsidy” for Central but did not specify the amount. The endorsement marked an official switch in support from Gold Cross, where many firefighters moonlighted as EMTs, to Central.
A member of the public who has been following the EMS discussion, Richard Jones, critiqued comments some commissioners had made in the media and suggested the city use sales tax funds to pay Central. One-percent sales taxes can’t be used to buy services, but could be used for equipment.
Commissioners also received as information details of the emergency procurement of EMS medical dispatch software from Priority Dispatch Corp for $127,204. Augusta 911 dispatchers will use the system to dispatch emergency medical calls, which Gold Cross was doing itself previously.
In other business Tuesday, commission committees approved:
- Spending $98,200 to hire Raftelis Financial Consultants to create a new “strategic plan” for Augusta Parks and Recreation. The Charlotte firm performs local government and utility management consulting and would join local firm Infrastructure Systems Management in consulting for the recreation department.
- Agreements between Augusta Housing and Community Development and Augusta Locally Grown to resume conducting a farmer’s market in the Laney-Walker-Bethlehem area and with Growing Augusta to host them at sites in south Augusta. Each of the two-year agreements cost the department $10,000.
