The Augusta Commission will make a final stab at cutting the 2024 budget and hiring an auditor at its final planned meeting of the year Tuesday.
It will also go over one of the year’s larger spending increases, emergency medical, after the commission hired Central EMS in the spring.
In a report going before the commission Tuesday, Central said it has provided standby EMS service at approximately 40 high school football games at no charge.
Since entering the Augusta market, the national EMS provider has increased its total fleet to include 21 ambulances, six quick-response vehicles and two community health intervention SUVs, the report said.
The firm’s contract with Augusta, approved by the commission in April, required Central keep 8-14 ambulances and three quick-response vehicles in service during peak hours.
Central is now staging the ambulances at 11 Augusta fire stations and has a base of operations in a leased space at 3827 Wrightsboro Road, the report said.
Staffing, which the report said remains a challenge nationwide, includes 71 full-time and 53 part-time personnel. Central has hired 29 full-time paramedics, 10 full-time advanced EMTs and 21 full-time basic EMTs, it said.
Response time data is not included in the report. The data – scant during former provider Gold Cross’ tenure – was unavailable “until August” of this year, it said. So, the period on which it was reported has been extended to Jan. 1, 2024, the report said.
The report mentions an anonymous August complaint about Central lacking sufficient equipment and vehicles to provide the serve, but the Georgia Department of Health found no deficiencies.
Hysteria surrounding former provider Gold Cross’ on-again, off-again relationship with Augusta has subsided, but the price tag for the city having a permanent provider remains.
As the Augusta Commission resumes discussions about trimming the 2024 budget, EMS remains a large expense. EMS providers are typically expected to bill Medicare and insurance providers for the service while cities tend to pay more to cover unreimbursed care.
Augusta was paying Gold Cross a $650,000 subsidy through 2022, but agreed to pay Central $2 million in 2023 and has budgeted $2.7 million for 2024.
The commission agreed two weeks ago not to adjourn its meeting to give staff more time to total the impact of a 1% budget cut and resumes discussions at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
The group takes up the EMS discussion and other items, including the Pension and Audit Committee’s no-action vote on hiring an auditor and Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle’s request to discuss “the process, procedures and oversight of Augusta Land Bank” at its 2 p.m. regular meeting.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
