(Atlantic) The Atlantic City Council will act on Wednesday to have the City Administrator initiate the purchase of a new ambulance from Braun Northwest.
Cass EMS, the City’s ambulance service, exists as a 28E Agreement with costs split evenly between the City of Atlantic, Cass Health, and Cass County. Atlantic City Administrator John Lund says the city is in a financially unsustainable commitment with Cass EMS. Over five years, expenditures have increased by 1,197%, even with the generous contribution of a brand-new ambulance for Cass Health.
EMS Subsidy Expenditures:
FY 2016-$50,400
FY 2017-$55,200
FY 2018-$55,200
FY 2019-$55,200
FY 2020-$55,200
FY 2021-$192,874
FY 2022-$255,119
FY 2023-$340,164
FY 2024-$390,000
FY 2025-$718,808
FY 2026-$736,778
FY 2027-$755,197
FY 2028-$774,077
FY 2029-$793,429
FY 2030-$813,265
FY 2031-$833,596
FY 2032-$854,436
FY 2033-$875,797
FY 2034-$897,692
FY 2035-$920,134
Atlantic City Administrator John Lund says to control costs for our pending negotiations for our expiring contract with our private sector provider; the City must now contribute towards some means of controlling the subsidy required to keep this ambulance service running. The city purchased an ambulance to complement the one purchased by the County. The Atlantic Personnel & Finance Committee reviewed this issue on two occasions. During their meeting on October 9th, 2024, the Committee endorsed the purchase of an ambulance as the City’s Contribution to Cass EMS.
The meeting starts at 5:30 on Wednesday, October 16, in the City Council Chambers at 5:30, p.m. at City Hall.