EMS advisory board asks county to take full PCC billing revenue to stabilize ambulance funding

Don, chairperson of the EMS advisory board, told the Osceola County Board on Feb. 10 that the advisory board unanimously approved a recommendation to shift PCC billing revenue toward EMS operating needs.

"Last year they collected roughly $300,000…we would then be responsible setting aside funds out of that for ambulance recruitment or training," Don said, describing the board’s budgeting exercise. He added the EMS board’s proposal: "we would like to receive 100% of the remaining balance of PCC billing and eliminate your line item and what that would do is preclude you having to provide us a loan every year for a $100,000 in July too." (presented to the board by the EMS advisory chair).

Don and other advisory-board members said the county currently keeps an 8% fee of PCC collections, which the advisory board estimated produced roughly $24,000 last year, leaving roughly $275,000 for EMS if the county forwent that fee. The board argued combining PCC receipts with the tax-levy appropriation would let EMS be self-sufficient and simplify annual budgeting. Members said they would set aside funds for recruitment, new ambulances and $55,000 cardiac-monitor replacements.

County members asked for time to evaluate operational and fiscal implications. Speaker 4 said they could not commit to a change immediately and wanted more information; Speaker 7 (the presenter) said the advisory board simply wished to open discussion and asked county staff to flag potential drawbacks. No formal county action or vote on that recommendation was recorded during the meeting.

The advisory board reported the proposal carried unanimously within the EMS advisory board at its Jan. 23 meeting and asked the county board to consider it as part of the 2026–27 budgeting cycle. The county’s next steps were not finalized during the meeting; commissioners asked staff to analyze potential impacts and return with clarifying details.