FREMONT COUNTY, Wyo. — The Fremont County Commission voted to finalize and sign a two-year contract extension with Priority Ambulance on Sept. 29, just one day before the current contract was set to expire.
Under the extension, the Commission will pay $5.4 million through December 2028 to provide ambulance service in Fremont County, County10.com reported.
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The total includes a five percent wage increase for ambulance employees in the first year and a four percent wage increase in the second year. The Commission has also agreed to recognize the local EMS union by meeting with them quarterly, along with Priority representatives, to discuss issues.
The Commission had hoped to negotiate a contract through July 2027, when the Fremont County Association of Governments (FCAG) is targeting a takeover of local ambulance operations, but Priority wouldn’t agree to that timeline. Priority pushed for a three-year contract, an option the Commission rejected because it could jeopardize $2 million in Rural Health Transformation funding tied to the EMS transition.
The two-year agreement is not expected to jeopardize that funding and gives FCAG time to develop a solid plan to take over EMS operations. Once that plan is in place and revenue starts coming in from the recently approved three-quarter percent sales tax, the Priority contract could be transferred to FCAG.
Riverton Mayor and FCAG Chairman Tim Hancock said there will be a transitional period as oversight shifts from the county to FCAG, with Priority remaining a partner for a time before FCAG expands services under its own model. He was referring to the plan FCAG endorsed this summer, at the recommendation of its Regional Ambulance Service Evaluation Committee, to support a locally governed public EMS model for Fremont County that doesn’t rely on an external contract.
The publicly run service RASEC recommended would roll out in two phases. Phase one would staff three ambulances in Riverton, one in Lander, one in the Fort Washakie/Ethete area, one in Dubois, and one dedicated transfer truck, all with full-time employees. Phase two would add paid volunteer response vehicles in low call-volume rural areas like Jeffrey City, Crowheart and Shoshoni to improve response times without the cost of additional full-time units.
Fremont County currently operates five ambulances, a number that will remain unchanged under the proposed contract extension with Priority.
