Streator council narrows 911 ambulance options to 2 private companies for personnel

The Streator City Council will discuss further the future of emergency ambulance service at 6 p.m. Monday, June 20, but the next time it meets its options will be narrowed.

The council reached a consensus Tuesday to decide a three-year contract between two private ambulance companies to provide personnel for 911 service, opting unofficially not to utilize the fire department to provide the service, as proposed by Streator Fire Chief Gary Bird.

According to bids opened Friday, Kurtz Medical Service (also American Medical Response Solutions) will offer personnel services for $3,399,534 for three years; and Paramedic Services of Illinois will perform personnel services for $3,390,252 for three years — a difference of $9,282 in favor of Paramedic Services of Illinois.

Personnel in Bird’s proposal for the fire department would have amounted to an estimated $4,487,061, also providing the city an additional six firefighters.

Mayor Tara Bedei said the firefighters’ proposal provided too many uncertainties. She cited labor costs in the pitch, because salaries have to be negotiated in collective bargaining, along with the requirement a blend of civilian and union personnel have to be approved by the firefighters union, according to state law. City Manager David Plyman had said once the city decides to utilize firefighters for EMS services, the city’s ability to use civilian paramedics, whether by contract or direct employment, will be restricted by the Illinois Substitutes Act. Bird said early discussions with the firefighters’ union indicate the union is willing to keep employee costs in-line with industry standard for the region and suspend what’s known as the Substitute Act for a period of time.

Bedei said she preferred accepting one of the two private bidders for the first three years until the city gets a better idea of costs and revenues.

The city will generate revenue by taking control of the billing process for the ambulance service and entering into intergovernmental agreements with neighboring districts to provide services for them in the hopes of balancing the labor costs, but the city’s prospective revenue is based off of projections.

Councilman Timothy Geary admitted he was on the fence about committing to one of the two bidders, saying companies may come and go, but the Streator Fire Department will always be there.

Council members Jacob Darby, Matt McMullen and Brian Crouch indicated they wanted to talk more about what the private companies have to offer in their bids in the next session.

Advanced Medical Transport, the city’s current emergency ambulance provider, did not submit a bid, as expected. The company said in a recent letter to the mayor and City Council, it won’t stay in Streator long-term, nor will it guarantee staying to Oct. 1, as it initially proposed, after the company took issues with how the city negotiated services. AMT is a private company that provided the Streator area with 911 paramedic ambulance service since 2004. During that time, the city didn’t contract with or compensate AMT, as the company made its money through its own service.

In March, the ambulance company told Streator the city would need to begin paying annually for it to stay: $400,000 for the first year, $500,000 the second year, $600,000 the third year and $700,000 the fourth year. Those figures, however, are determined with AMT doing its own billing and taking in whatever revenue is generated.

Streator also will purchase its own ambulance vehicles and equipment. Plyman said the city has saved its COVID-19 relief money to make these purchases. Council members questioned if the city should have had companies make separate bids providing their own equipment, and Bedei said by the city purchasing its own, it eliminates possible mark-up costs.

Whichever company is chosen to run emergency ambulance services, it will operate out of the Streator Fire Department with Bird getting some final say in how the staff is put together. The fire department building is equipped to house an ambulance service, Plyman said.

The next council meeting will focus on comparing the proposals from Kurtz Medical Service (also American Medical Response Solutions) and Paramedic Services of Illinois. With the bids being so close to each other in cost, Bedei said the council can compare more of the details to find the best fit for the city. Both proposals can be found online on the city’s website by clicking on the Committee of the Whole agenda for June 14.

The City Council agreed a decision on personnel must be finalized during its Wednesday, June 22, council meeting, where an official vote is expected to be taken on the bids, as well as buying ambulances.