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FY 16 EMS New Ambulance Purchase (funds approved in FY 16 Budget) Project Description Seeking a purchase order (PO) to replace two ambulances that have exceeded acceptable mileage as EMS response units and outlived their reliability in accordance with County vehicle replacement policy at a cost of $340,000. The funds were budgeted in the FY 16 Budget. This purchase will be completed with affiliation in the Houston - Galveston area council (H -GAC). The H -GAC Cooperative Purchasing Program assists local governments in reducing costs through this government -to- government procurement service available nationwide. This program is available to local government entities and qualifying non - profit corporations History In years past, ambulances were utilized until no longer capable of responding and often exceeded 200,000 miles. Vehicle failures were frequent and reliability was unpredictable. A policy was adopted resulting in ambulance replacements at 125,000 miles for front line units. Cost associated with maintenance after expiration of warranty continued to be a significant burden. The Cabarrus County Fleet Maintenance recommended a replacement policy of 100,000 for front line units and was subsequently adopted as County policy on 11/15/09. Based upon cyclic nature of utilization and mileage accumulation, ambulance replacement should occur with three units annually to maintain appropriate resource reliability and readiness. Justification • Compliance with fleet maintenance policy reduces ambulance maintenance costs, maintains reliability of emergency response fleet, and increases reliability. • New unit warranty six years or 100,000 miles • Average annual mileage of EMS units is 28,000 • Call volume and demand continues to increase Impact if Not Funded • Reduced reliability and increased liability associated with vehicle failures during emergency response or patient transport. • Vehicle failures related to emergency response must be recorded in ambulance call report and reported to the NC Office of EMS. • Adoption of NFPA 1917 standard for ambulance building is scheduled to be implemented by NCOEMS in September 2015. • Vehicle failures and extended unit down time result in lost resources to cover county emergency response needs. Cost Saving Measures • Research on best product • Participation in regional cooperatives for best pricing • Communication with county fleet maintenance manager • Consistency in fleet (Chevrolet chassis) Dependencies • Approval of purchase utilizing Houston - Galveston area council (H -GAC) by Cabarrus County Commissioners Attachment number 1 \n F -7 Page 150