The Greene County Ambulance Service Board voted to approve expanding its maintenance agreement to provide seven licenses for inventory tracking and seven licenses for maintenance and to submit the amended contract to the commissioners for final approval and signature.

The change was proposed to allow reserve ambulances to be stocked and tracked so they are ready during disasters or high-demand periods. Speaker 1, the ambulance director, said current contracts listed ‘‘5 and 7’’ licenses and that moving to ‘‘7 and 7’’ "will allow us to keep a full inventory and keep those [units] stocked appropriately and have a daily knowledge of what's taken on and off of them." Speaker 2 moved the measure and Speaker 3 seconded it; the motion carried on a voice vote.

Why it matters: Board members said the expanded license counts would reduce manual equipment swaps and make reserve units immediately usable. Speaker 1 also told the board the maintenance language submitted to vendor Bound Tree closely mirrors a 2023 agreement, and the vendor was reviewing proposed edits.

Operations, finance and staffing: Speaker 1 provided the October operational report, saying the service logged 357 total calls (49 by the rescue unit), completed 268 transports (including 226 long-distance trips), and brought in $212,035.94 for the month — $128,197.14 more than the same month last year. Vehicle work in the shop included a broken front tie rod that was repaired and a separate unit awaiting a recall part and alignment.

On staffing, Speaker 1 announced one full-time EMT resigned effective Nov. 24 and is expected to remain on PRN status; two paramedic hires are in process for PRN onboarding. The director said the service aims to maintain four staffed trucks daily, with a paramedic on duty per licensing requirements.

Controlled substances compliance: Speaker 1 told the board the service discovered it has been operating under the medical director’s DEA registration and needs its own registrations. "That requires me to apply through different agencies to obtain that," the director said, noting state controlled-substance licensure must precede DEA application. The director said the goal is to complete the state and DEA steps by January.

Next steps: The approved maintenance agreement will be forwarded to the commissioners' court for final signature once vendor language is confirmed; the board will follow up on implementation details, inventory setup and the director’s progress on controlled-substance registrations.