Alameda County to restart search for a new EMS provider

Supes hint at ALCO Fire taking over EMS contract; County says it's not their fault Coliseum deal with AASEG has hit a 'snag;' Fremont loses a police chief, Hayward gains an interim city manager

☕️MORNING BUZZ

—The last two contracts for Alameda County’s EMS services were highly contentious. The current quest for a new contract is also proving controversial.

Rather than accept county staff’s recommendation for a new Emergency Medical Services provider, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors opted on Tuesday evening to reject all three bids, setting the stage for restarting the procurement process.

American Medical Response (AMR) West appeared poised for a return to Alameda County after it lost the contract in 2011, according to rankings that followed the Request for Proposals (RFP). Falck Northern California Corp., the county’s current EMS provider, was a close second, followed by a bid from the Alameda County Fire Department.

However, there were questions about AMR’s relationship with labor unions, along with persistent skepticism voiced by some supervisors about the methodology of the RFP process, which ultimately favored AMR.

Leaders from the Alameda Labor Council and several other firefighters unions urged the board to reject the staff recommendation and yet again kickstart a new RFP.

During deliberations on Tuesday, Supervisor Nate Miley asked what will happen if the new contract is not approved.

“We don’t have a plan. This was the plan,” said Lauri McFadden, director of Alameda County Emergency Medical Services. In this event, the board would likely have to extend its contract with Falck, she added.

“This is going to take years,” McFadden later said about potentially restarting the process. The current RFP was initiated by the board in late 2023. Falck’s contract with the county runs through July 2026.

After several lackluster EMS contracts over the past decade, the Board of Supervisors expressed a willingness to switch from its current EMS model, which features an Exclusive Operating Agreement to an open system that could allow various vendors to provide services under the auspices of the Alameda County Fire Department.

County staff was not asked to study the open system during the procurement process. But Aneeka Chaudhry, the interim director of the Alameda County Health Department, indicated to the board that she would not have recommended such a major change for how 9-1-1 services are provided in the county.

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—MORE INSIDE:

• Alameda County still doesn’t have a Coliseum deal, and county counsel says the A’s and AASEG are the issue, not the county.

• Fremont’s police chief is retiring after 28 years on the force.

• Hayward’s city manager, who was place on paid administrative leave, will not return to her job after the city named an interim city manager who is expected to serve through the end of this year.

• San Leandro approves its fiscal year budget, but fiscal uncertainty could become more apparent next year.

• A former San Leandro councilmember thinks the city council should take action against embattled Councilmember Bryan Azevedo.

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