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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Ambulance services in Chilton County will be discussed at an upcoming public meeting on Sept. 17 after a month of public discussions trying to come up with a solution to add more services.

The county has been fighting a battle of not having enough adequate ambulances for a while, and it has never owned its own ambulance service. While there was an ambulance at the old hospital, that was not property of the county. The ambulance service concerns really became an issue when the COVID-19 pandemic came sweeping into Chilton County. There was a huge uptick in ambulance service needs county wide, and it became clear quickly that there was not enough to go around in a timely manner.

“It is an issue, and I agree we need to do something,” Chilton County Commission Chairman Kelley said. “We are definitely going to explore options, and we are going to look at all options.”

Counties and cities that were well off and more tax based than a county like Chilton were able to pay paramedics better wages than independent services could during the pandemic. Those independent services are now looking for paramedics, but it takes a specialized medical profession to transport people in an ambulance. They must have certifications in order to do so, such as the Critical Care Paramedic Certification and Critical Care Transport Certificate of Specialization.

The last contract between the county and Regional Paramedical Services ran out in 2021, and no new contract with RPS or another ambulance service was signed. Chilton County EMA director Nic Bolton said the services RPS offers to the county right now are “out of the goodness of their hearts.” RPS and Chilton County have been partners since 1999, and they were not going to leave the county without any ambulance services no matter if a contract was signed or not. During negotiations in 2021, the county just believed they could do an ambulance service themselves for cheaper than what RPS was requesting.

Fast forward to 2024, and ambulance services for citizens are still scare and wait times are sometimes very long. The Chilton County Commission is looking into many different ways to bring more ambulance services to the county. Kelley said that as of right now, if the people of Chilton County want extra services, the county has to figure out a way to pay for it.

One of the first options that was mentioned was a $15 tag fee that would happen each time a resident went to renew their motor vehicle tags. This fee would go directly to funding an ambulance service that would guarantee three ambulances and a chase vehicle to serve and operate solely in Chilton County. Estimates show that a county ambulance service of that nature would cost $2.4 million. In this instance, $1.5 million of that would come from the tag fee, and the rest of the funding would come from business revenue in the county.

To get more of the public’s opinion on this proposed option, a text message poll was sent out on Aug. 29 through an app the county emergency services use to issue widespread alerts in case of something urgent. Anyone that has that app received the poll and were welcome to give their feedback. The results showed around 1,500 people voting yes for the tag fee, around 1,100 people voting no, and some groups of uncommitted and unreachable.

In Kelley’s opinion, the tag fee is an okay option, but he does not think it is the across the board thing to do. If the tag fee was passed, those who have cars would be providing the funding, but everyone would receive the ambulance services.

“I am for anything where the majority is helping load the wagon, then I do not mind everyone riding the wagon,” Kelley said. “But if I have to load the wagon and 10 people stand there watching me and they get to ride just like I do, I do not like that.”

The Association of County Commissions of Alabama encourages commissions to not get into owning their own ambulance service because it is too big of a risk and responsibility. The ACCA liability insurance also does not cover ambulance services. They furnish many other insurances for county commissions, but not of that sort for ambulance services — a big reason why the county is having the meeting on Sept. 17 to listen to independent ambulance services and what they can provide.

At the meeting, the commission has to be very careful not to negotiate a price or contract of any kind due to having not sent out a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the services. This gives all independent ambulance services a chance to look into the possibility of providing services in Chilton County and giving everyone an equal opportunity. The meeting is legal to hold, according to the county attorney, but there is a fine line that the commission needs to abide by. RPS will be at the meeting, and the commission can listen to what RPS has to say and the options they have. However, the commission cannot counter offer or negotiate whatsoever. RPS has been working with the county to potentially create a subsidy that could provide the same services at half the cost, which could potentially be a topic of discussion at the meeting.

Nothing has been settled upon yet, and talks are ongoing and still happening with many options. Kelley is in talks with other options when it comes to the topic that he is not at liberty to discuss at this point, but will give comment when he can and when something more solid is laid out. No matter what option is chosen, if the county were to decide to support an ambulance service where they would need additional financing that they do not have readily available, then the legislature would have to submit a request for a special election in February 2025 for the county to let the citizens vote on it. If so, the county has until Jan. 1 to submit their request as the legislature goes into session in February.

“We can impose a tax for a service in the county, but I am not for imposing things on people,” Kelley said. “As long as I am Chairman, I will push for a vote of the people.”

The upcoming meeting on Sept. 17 will be held at the county public safety building (500 Airport Road, Clanton). While the meeting is open to the public, it will be strictly for discussion between the commission and the ambulance services present, and there will not be any public comments. Public comments can be made at a later date, or during a meeting that is set up as a public forum.