Santa Barbara County’s fire chiefs are speaking out about a court ruling which has delayed the implementation of a major change in the county’s ambulance services.
AMR held the contract for decades. The county fire department submitted a competing bid. A consultant recommended that AMR get a new contract, but County Supervisors rejected the suggestion, and opted to allow non-exclusive contracts.
In the end, the county fire department got the contract. AMR filed a lawsuit, questioning the process. The ruling extends AMR’s existing contract until July, so the court has time to rule on the lawsuit. The change was supposed to happen in March.
The county’s fire chiefs say they are disappointed by the ruling. In the letter, they claim that years ago it became apparent that the public was not being best served by AMR deployment plan. The chiefs say the county fire department’s handling of the ambulance services would allow the deployment of more ambulances with faster response times.
