Special Meeting on 2027 County EMS Proposals - May 26, 2026
Special Meeting of the Vanderburgh County Board of Commissioners: 2027 EMS Proposals
Date: May 26, 2026 (10:33 A.M.)
Meeting Type: Special Meeting
Presiding: President Justin Elpers, Vice President Amy Canterbury, Member Mike Goebel
The Board of County Commissioners held a special meeting to receive presentations from three entities responding to RFQ 2026-03 for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) coverage in unincorporated portions of Center, Perry, and Union Townships. The current AMR contract expires December 31, 2026. The City of Evansville will launch its own municipal EMS on July 1, 2026, ending AMR’s city contract. The commissioners evaluated proposals from American Medical Response (AMR), the Evansville Fire Department (EFD), and the Vanderburgh County Fire Department (VCFD) based on service capability, ambulance locations, cost, and contract terms.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Sheriff Noel Robinson (Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office): Expressed support for the Vanderburgh County Fire Department’s proposal, stating that it offers the best guarantee of fast response times with a proven track record, particularly in remote areas where seconds matter.
Discussion Items
AMR Proposal (Paul Phillips, Regional Director; Lee Turpin, Operations Manager)
- Proposed three 24/7 ALS ambulances dedicated solely to the county, stationed near McCutchanville Station 5 (Petersburg Road), McCutchanville Station 10 (N. St. Joseph Avenue), and the University of Southern Indiana campus.
- Requested an annual subsidy of $1.875 million, with a quarterly review mechanism that could decrease the subsidy (never increase). AMR would continue service at current rates through the end of 2026 without additional subsidy for that period.
- Highlighted 105 years of local service, participation in the CARES cardiac arrest registry (top statewide outcomes), disaster response (Mayfield, KY tornado; January 2026 snowstorm), and proposed co-branding of ambulances with the county.
- Acknowledged staff losses since the city’s decision to change EMS, but stated they have sufficient full-time staffing to implement the plan now.
Vanderburgh County Fire Department Proposal (Chief Adam Farrar)
- Proposed three additional ALS ambulances (plus one reserve) in the same general locations as AMR’s plan, along with a full-time EMS supervisor.
- Current VCFD already operates four paramedic ambulances within the Scott Fire Territory (Scott, Armstrong, German Townships; Town of Darmstadt), funded by a fire territory tax (approximately $0.42 per $100 assessed valuation).
- Estimated $1.5 million in startup costs for equipment and an annual subsidy of approximately $1.6 million (fluctuating based on revenue). Noted that if townships joined the fire territory, the subsidy could be eliminated and funded through property taxes instead.
- Emphasized their 30-year history of ALS transport, signed contracts for whole blood, and willingness to use an AVL-based closest-unit dispatch model.
Evansville Fire Department Proposal (Deputy Chiefs Jared Brown and Kane)
- Proposed a fully integrated fire-based EMS system using existing infrastructure, requiring no subsidy, no startup appropriations, and no new facilities.
- Would deploy six 24/7 ambulances and two peak-hour (12-hour) ambulances (total eight units) from existing city fire stations, plus three reserve units. Estimated response times of ≤10 minutes (80% compliance) for Center and Perry Townships, ≤14 minutes for Union Township.
- All 11 new ambulances are four-wheel drive; staffing includes 22 newly hired paramedics and 22 EMTs, with strong recruitment (55 applicants for paramedic positions).
- Financially self-sustaining through patient billing; highlighted that over 49% of county residents are on Medicare/Medicaid or uninsured, and their projections account for this payer mix. Offers the RescueShield subscription ($89/year per household) to cover out-of-pocket costs.
- Stated they already provide contracted services to Knight and Pigeon Townships. Acknowledged that current priority lies with the city contract, but affirmed that a county contract would receive equal commitment.
Additional Clarifications
- Commissioners’ Concerns: Commissioner Elpers questioned EFD’s priority being the city limits, but EFD stated a signed county contract would make the county an equal priority.
- Staffing: AMR clarified that not all staff departures were due to EFD hiring; some left due to uncertainty about system sustainability. VCFD reported no current staff losses to EFD.
- Letters of Support: Multiple letters were submitted for each proposal (e.g., Sheriff Robinson supported VCFD).
Key Outcomes
- No final decision was made. The commissioners will conduct further negotiations and hold a special public meeting before their regular June 16, 2026 meeting (9:30 A.M.), at which a final vote will be taken.
- Criteria for Decision: Service reliability, ambulance locations, cost (including subsidy requirements), and contract terms will be weighed.
- Next Steps: Discussions will involve the County Council (members present: Han and Acarino). A final decision is expected by June 16, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Alright. Welcome to the special meeting of the Vandenberg County Board of Commissioners for May 26th. Madeline, please call the order. Commissioner Gable. Commissioner Canterbury. Here. President and Orders. Here. Please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. To the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. All right. On the agenda today, we are uh the commissioners are seeking proposals for uh a county emergency medical service for 2027. Uh we do have three proposals, uh, one being from American Medical Response AMR. Number two, uh Emersonville Fire Department, and uh the third proposal is from the Vanderburgh County Fire Department. Uh we would like to go in that order. Uh, but here this morning um we will bump the Evansville Fire Department to uh the third presentation. Uh the superintendent is uh currently in a meeting, so we Chief Knight. Sorry, Chief Knight will is in a in a meeting currently, so we'll bide some time for him, and then if uh if he's present, uh great. If not, he does have uh two uh uh individuals from the fire department that can fill in and present the present that information. Uh a couple items before we begin. Um, you know, currently right now American Medical Response AMR has uh the contract uh for uh the county and also the city limits. Um the city has elected to start their own EMS service, and that is going to start uh July 1st. The uh map here, and I did print out a few back there just for reference. Uh currently uh the Vanderburgh County uh fire department has uh or does cover areas in the townships of Almstrong, Scott, German, and the town of Darmstadt, and um the areas or the townships that uh need service going forward, uh, are Perry Union and parts of center township. So we are going to allow for those presentations, and we're gonna give each group uh roughly 10 minutes or so. Uh there could be some back and forth or questions from the commissioners, and then at the end I want to give the opportunity as we stated in our public announcement to the media to our residents. Is that give them an opportunity to come up and voice any concerns or if they have any questions, they will have that opportunity at the end. Um with each proposal, obviously some very important things that we're looking at. Obviously, number one is service, uh location of where this is going to occur, the location of the ambulances cost, and what kind of contract are we looking at? So those were the big four things that I'm gonna be looking at going into this uh proposal, and then um finally at the end, um, when we conclude our meeting, we will have uh further negotiations. Uh obviously, this is a uh there's a funding piece to this, so we'll be uh obviously talking to our friends on county council as well, and then um we'll likely see another important meeting for the commissioners to hash out all these negotiations and details, and then the final decision uh will be made by the commissioners at June at the June 16th meeting, which is our first meeting in June. So just wanted to kind of lay that groundwork uh before we begin. Commissioners, is there anything else that I did not mention? You get good to go. I'm good to go. I just want to preface this meeting by stating to all parties how impressed we are with your presentations and the information you've given us and the um arguments you've given us, and I know it's coming out now in the public, but it's helped the commissioners to to this date. Of course, we're not there yet, so thank you. And I would just add I think it's important for uh the community to understand that we're not just looking at this today at the beginning. We've been talking about this as well since um the city made decisions to to make the change, but I just wanted to make sure that the work has not just is not beginning today, it's been going on for for several several months and and having these discussions and and talking through what this looks like and uh knowing that we had through the end of the year to have the current contract fulfilled. Okay. Thank you, Commissioners. Uh let's go ahead and begin first on the uh list is American Medical Response AMR, you may come forward. He's getting around. Before you begin, I do want to make note. I think it's important we do have two county council members in here. Uh County Council member Han and Acarino. Appreciate you guys being here. Guys, maybe in.
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