Nashua Will Not Continue Ambulance Arrangement with Charles City, Floyd County

Floyd County and the City of Charles City will move forward on a new contract with its private ambulance service provider without the City of Nashua’s involvement. 

The current agreement with AMR Ambulance is set to expire June 30th and a joint County/City ambulance commission met last week to discuss the parameters for a new contract to start July 1st.

County Supervisor and ambulance commission chair Jim Jorgensen says the three-year contract calls for a subsidy payment to AMR of $415,000 for the first year, with a 3% increase in cost each of the following years. The agreement also includes an opt-out clause with at least 30 days notice.

The City of Nashua has already opted out of being part of the next AMR contract. Since January, Nashua has had a 28E agreement with Charles City and Floyd County to extend AMR’s service into the city limits of Nashua for a six-month period ending June 30th at a cost of $10,000. Nashua is working to starts its own all-volunteer ambulance, but considered keeping AMR service to help fill the gaps they can’t cover.

Charles City City Administrator Steve Diers says Nashua City Clerk John Ott informed him  a motion was made to join the AMR contract during the Nashua City Council meeting Monday night, but the motion failed on a 2-2 vote with one council member absent.

As it is, the City and County continue to split the subsidy paid to AMR with help from Floyd County Medical Center, which has committed $100,000 in fiscal year 2023-24.

Jorgensen says starting Floyd County’s own ambulance service is also still a possibility, but getting the AMR contract finalized in the first priority.

The AMR contract still needs official approval by the Charles City City Council and the Floyd County Board of Supervisors.