Two private ambulance companies are interested in replacing the Baker City Fire Department as ambulance provider for an area that includes the city and about two-thirds of the rest of Baker County.

Baker County commissioners set a June 3 deadline for proposals.

The proposals are from Metro West Ambulance of Hillsboro, and Victory EMS of Boise, said Jason Yencopal, the county’s emergency management director.

The Baker City Council decided on May 10 to also submit a proposal, but councilors, by a 4-2 vote on May 24, reversed the unanimous decision from two weeks earlier.

During the May 24 meeting, Councilor Dean Guyer suggested the city not send a proposal to the county by the June 3 deadline.

Guyer and councilors Joanna Dixon, Johnny Waggoner Sr. and Kenyon Damschen voted in favor of Guyer’s motion to not respond to the county’s request for proposals.

Mayor Kerry McQuisten and Councilor Shane Alderson voted no. Councilor Jason Spriet was absent May 24.

Guyer said during the meeting that “the city still has the possibility of stepping back into” the ambulance service issue depending on what county commissioners decide after reviewing any proposals they receive.

But Commissioner Bruce Nichols said on Monday, June 6 that, with the county having received two proposals, he is skeptical that the city can reinsert itself into the discussion.

“I think they’ve burned their bridge,” Nichols said. “I think we’ve gone too far down the path. To me they made it clear they’re not interested” in continuing to operate ambulances.

Nichols said the county is not legally obligated to choose either of the two proposals it received, however.

Under Oregon law, the county is responsible for ensuring ambulance service throughout the county.

Commissioners sent out the request for proposals after the City Council, on March 22, notified the county that the city intended to discontinue ambulance service Sept. 30, 2022.

City Manager Jonathan Cannon has told councilors several times that he doesn’t believe the city can afford to continue operating ambulances because the difference between the cost to do so, and the amount the city collects from ambulance bills, will continue to grow.

The difference over the past several years has averaged around $700,000.

Members of the union that represents the city’s firefighter/paramedics, however, dispute Cannon’s claims. They contend the city can afford to continue ambulance service for at least the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Both county commissioners and city councilors have discussed the possibility of asking voters in May 2023, both inside the city and elsewhere in the county, to approve a tax levy or create a new ambulance or ambulance/fire district that would serve as a new, long-term source of revenue for ambulance service.

If Baker City does stop operating ambulances, it would lose about $1 million in annual revenue. Ambulance runs also account for 80% to 85% of service calls for the city fire department.

The proposed city budget for the new fiscal year — which the City Council has to adopt by June 30 — includes reducing the fire department staffing from the current 16.25 full-time equivalents to 10.5.

County to evaluate proposals

Baker County commissioners, during their June 1 meeting, appointed members to a committee that will evaluate the two ambulance proposals.

Committee members are Tony Alexander, Wayne Endersby, Debra Duggan, Pat Sullivan, David Richards, Loran Joseph, Jeanne Peacock and Randy Daugherty.

“The task before them is to evaluate whether or not all of the bids are as we requested, how well they fill the requirements,” Commission Chairman Bill Harvey said on June 1.

Yencopal said the county’s initial timeline called for commissioners to approve a notice of intention to award a contract for ambulance services by June 29.

But he said the county might try to accelerate that schedule, in part because staffing shortages in the city fire department — the department has three openings for firefighter/paramedics — prompted commissioners on May 24 to declare an emergency.

The county hired American Medical Response (AMR) to have an ambulance available in Baker City and Baker County from May 27 to June 6. Yencopal said the county has extended that contract to June 10, and it possibly could be extended again.

AMR has brought two ambulances to Baker City, but only one is staffed, Yencopal said.

Both ambulances are parked at Second Street and Valley Avenue. The second ambulance is a backup in case the other ambulance has a mechanical issue.

The county is paying AMR $3,700 per day.

Yencopal said the company will reimburse the county up to $500 per ambulance run.

He said AMR’s ambulance has been the first on-call ambulance to maximize the number of runs the company responds to, making it easier for it to reimburse the county for part of the cost.

Yencopal said the county’s attorney, Kim Mosier, advised county officials not to publicly release the proposals from Metro West Ambulance and Victory EMS until the commissioners approve a notice to award a contract to one of the companies.