During Tuesday morning’s meeting, the Brownwood City Council unanimously ratified an agreement between Brown County and Lifeguard Ambulance of Texas, LLC and authorizing the monthly payment by the City to Brown County of a pro-rata portion of the subsidy paid to Lifeguard under the agreement.
At a meeting on January 11, 2023, the Brown County Ambulance Committee was informed by Lifeguard Ambulance Company that they would like to renegotiate the terms of the agreement that is currently in place. There is a provision in the current agreement that allows Lifeguard to renegotiate at any time for circumstances beyond their control.
The committee discussed the option of renegotiation and decided it was in the best interest of all participating entities to develop a new RFP for ambulance service in Brown County and advertise for prospective companies to submit proposals.
Three proposals were received with two companies submitting proposals that closely met the parameters of the RFP. After in-depth discussions with both companies the committee felt it was in everyone’s best interest to stay with our current vendor Lifeguard Ambulance.
On November 21, 2023, the Brown County Ambulance Committee voted unanimously to recommend to the Brown County Commissioners a new three-year agreement with Lifeguard Ambulance. This agreement was approved at the Brown County Commissioners Court on Monday December 4, 2023, and is also being considered for approval in the City of Early and City of Bangs during their December meetings.
There will be a substantial price increase with the new agreement. Currently, the County pays $105,000, the new agreement for ambulance service is $450,000 which equates to a 329% increase. Under the new agreement, Brown County is required to pay Lifeguard an annual subsidy for each of the three years of the original term of the agreement, in the amount of $450,000 for Year 1 of the agreement beginning January 1, 2024; in the amount of $463,500 for Year 2 of the agreement beginning January 1, 2025; in the amount of $477,405 for Year 3 of the Agreement.
The City of Brownwood’s subsidy payment to Brown County: Year 1 – The City of Brownwood’s ambulance subsidy will be $159,030 which is 35.34% of the total $450,000 Brown County Lifeguard Ambulance Agreement. Brown County will send monthly invoices of $13,235 to the City of Brownwood for the ambulance service provided. This expense was anticipated and was previously approved during the 2023-2024 budget process. Year 2 and 3 – The City of Brownwood’s ambulance subsidy will be negotiated between the City of Brownwood and Brown County.
The total $450,000 subsidy for year one is split between the four governing bodies using the multiplier below:
| Multiplier | Year 1 | |
| Brown County | 0.5631 | $253,395 |
| City of Brownwood | 0.3534 | $159,030 |
| City of Early | 0.0578 | $26,010 |
| City of Bangs | 0.0257 | $11,565 |
| Totals | 1 | $450,000 |
The list below highlights changes from the previous agreement:
1. Section 6.01 – Minimum staffing requirement of four MICU ambulances which includes a penalty if staffing provisions are not met.
2. Article 14 – Lifeguard has the ability to terminate the contract with 365 days’ notice.
3. Section 15 – An increase in the subsidy payment from $105,000 to $450,000 which is a 328 % increase in the yearly subsidy, plus a 3% raise each year in the annual subsidy for years 2 and 3 of the agreement.
4. Section 15.01 – Additional reasons added for further increasing the subsidy if needed for extraordinary circumstances.
5. Section 17.01 – Changes to the performance bond requirements
6. Exhibit 2 – An increase of 183% of the average patient charge to $2142.33 up from $758.15
7. Exhibit 2 – An increase of 100% of the loaded mile charge to $46.44 up from $23.22