A public meeting this week shed more light on the future of ambulance service in Fulton County.

But discussion, questions and evaluation are still being had before a decision is made.

The Fulton County Commissioners, Fulton County Council, and EMS Review committee met Monday at the Fulton County Sheriff’s Detention Center to discuss the current bids for EMS service.  There currently are two EMS services which are being considered, Lutheran EMS and Heartland EMS. 

The meeting was led by Barry Ritter of Ritter Services, consultants the county hired to help with the procesRitter began by reviewing the bids that each EMS service provided to the committee.  Heartland EMS bid $1,350,00 for each year, totaling $5.4 million for the 4-year contract.  Lutheran EMS bid zero dollars for 2024, $400,000 for 2025, $420,000 for 2026 and $421,000 for 2027. 

Fulton County has asked in the RFP for three ambulances to be placed in Fulton County and both EMS services bidding do have that in their contract. 

During the public meeting Ritter Services also showed slides of pros and cons that the committee came developed for each bidder that they call the 'SWOT', Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.

There were two county residents in the audience that spoke about the cost difference between the two companies, and they do not want their taxes raised to pay for this. 

There were also some questions and comments from the council. 

The commissioners will be making their recommendation to the county council ahead of their next meeting which will be held on November 21.

There is still time for residents to contact commissioners or council members and voice their opinions.

County commissioner Rick Ranstead spoke about the meeting on GIANT fm WROI with Randy Wynn.