Analysis shows significant impact of new EMS costing model

Due to the major financial impact on Lethbridge taxpayers, City administration is recommending City Council not accept the Province’s new contract conditions for emergency medical services (EMS), while preserving the right to participate in further negotiations and/or request for proposal processes. 

On March 13, Emergency Health Services (EHS) – Alberta notified the City that before negotiations on a new EMS contract could begin, the City would need to agree in advance to cover any costs above the provincial funding benchmark. As Council learned at today’s Community Issues Committee meeting, this change could significantly increase costs for local taxpayers.

Council is expected to make a decision on how to proceed at a special meeting of City Council on May 5.

“Over the past several weeks, we’ve spent a significant amount of time carefully reviewing what these changes would mean for Lethbridge,” says Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer, Darrell Mathews. “We’ve worked with EHS to clarify as many details as we could and ensure City Council has clear, accurate information.”

Lethbridge currently provides an enhanced level of service by integrating Fire and EMS. This means staff are trained as both firefighters and paramedics. In addition to funding from the provincial EMS contract, local taxpayers contribute $3.5 million each year to maintain this service. Proposed funding changes from EHS could have a significant impact on Lethbridge taxpayers, adding $3.7 million in local costs in 2027, a 1.8 per cent tax increase. That cost is expected to grow to $4.2 million in 2028 and $4.6 million by 2029.

“This decision impacts people and that is not something anyone takes lightly,” says Mayor Blaine Hyggen. “Today’s presentation shows how complex this issue is and the many different factors that need to be weighed. We are grateful for the time and effort staff have put into providing the analysis we need to support our decision-making.”

Along with the financial analysis, Council received information on the operational impacts should the City discontinue local EMS. Moving to a Fire-only service would mean the loss of approximately 70 EMS and support staff positions. There are also efficiencies today by having Fire and EMS share expenses for things like building costs, supplies and training. These would still need to be funded in a Fire-only model, creating an ongoing tax pressure of approximately $1.1 million per year or a 0.5 per cent tax increase. There would also be an estimated one-time cost of $600,000 in 2027 to support the transition out of integrated service.

“We are disappointed with how this process has rolled out,” says Mayor Hyggen. “As we learned today, this decision will have a tax implication on Lethbridge residents, regardless of what decision Council makes. That is a frustrating position to be in.”

Some of the service level impacts that could be felt by the community if EMS were to go to the Provincial service level standard may include:

•  A blend of Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) vs the current service level of all ALS ambulances
• A reduction in the amount of time ambulances are fully staffed, meaning there may be more periods when ambulances are not available, affecting response times
• Ambulance locations set by provincial EHS planning rather than at the current strategically located Fire Stations
• An increase in out-of-community deployments due to provincial demand
• Decrease in efficiency and collaboration at emergency events if there are two responding organizations rather than just one
• The loss of the local Tactical EMS team that supports LPS events

Today’s administrative recommendation also suggests Council not accept the 2.5-year contract extension that EHS has indicated they would like to pursue. Based on public messaging from EHS, the intent of the extension is to give it more time to put in place new single source contracts or complete a procurement process to secure an alternate service provider. This would likely be a maximum of 12 months, not 2.5 years. Agreeing to the extension would not provide any added stability or certainty for the current integrated fire and EMS.

City Council has until May 31 to inform EHS of their decision. If Council does not agree to take on the additional cost, EHS has indicated they will move to either an open procurement process or a direct delivery model. If EHS initiates a procurement process, the City would have the option to submit a proposal at that time.

For full details on this issue visit: https://getinvolvedlethbridge.ca/ems-contract

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