Slidell council approves ambulance contract

Even though Acadian Ambulance has been providing emergency medical services to Slidell for more than a year, the city has not had a contract with the company.

That changed Tuesday night when the Slidell City Council approved an ordinance authorizing Mayor Ben Morris to sign a one-year contract with Acadian Ambulance.

But the agreement did not come without some disagreement among council members, who thought the contract was not specific enough and wondered if other ambulance companies had been considered.

The issue of having an ambulance service in the city has been bandied back and forth for over a year. In 2007, the council put a moratorium on issuing new permits on any new ambulance services in the city in order to study the issue. The council formed a panel headed by Councilman Lionel Hicks to study what the city should require from an EMS company.

At the time, Acadian Ambulance and Lifeguard Ambulance were the only two EMS companies in the city. That changed several months after the moratorium when Lifeguard was bought by Acadian.

The first contract was presented to the council last week but was tabled because council members needed time to read it over.

The contract was taken off the table Tuesday, but an amended contract was presented.

The difference between the two is the wording over renewal of the contract and what would happen if the city brought in another ambulance company.

City attorney Tim Mathison said both contracts were for one year, but the amended document would have the option of two five-year renewals that could only go into effect if both the city and Acadian gave written consent to the renewal. The first contract offered three five-year renewals with only “agreement of both the city and provider.”

The other change took out a provision that would have forced the city to pay Acadian Ambulance $500 a day as long as another ambulance service operated within city limits.

Despite the changes, several council members were not happy with the new contract.

Warren Crockett wanted to know why there were no comparisons with other ambulance services and charges and fees charged by Acadian. He and Councilman Bill Borchert wanted to table the issue again until other companies had been compared with Acadian.

However, Council President Ray Canada said the contract was only for one year. He said the parish government was working on a request for performance for a parishwide ambulance service. If the parish hired Acadian, the city could piggyback on that without having a separate contract.

Councilwoman Kim Harbison wanted something in the contract that would have Acadian stay in the city in case of an emergency, something Morris also wanted.

“I want it iron-clad saying they will stay in an emergency, or I will not sign it,” Morris said.

Mathison said if the contract is signed, Acadian will have to fulfill the contract, which means staying in case of emergency.

Councilman Joe Fraught and others urged the contract be accepted so city residents would be covered by an EMS service.

“Not having a contract is dangerous for the residents,” Fraught said. “Acadian is a quality company. They have a good track record.”

“We need to have something for the next year,” Councilman Richard Hursey said. “It’s not perfect, but we need something with teeth to hold Acadian here. We have to take a look at the big picture.”

The amended contract was approved 5-3 with Crockett, Harbison and Borchert voting against it.