Traction for an alternative service to San Luis Ambulance is steadily gaining steam among cities in San Luis Obispo County.
Backed by all city managers and the county Fire Chiefs Association, a proposed “public-private partnership” model led by Paso Robles and involving the cities is poised to appear before the county.
“[The Alliance model] allows a county board of supervisors to contract with a fire agency, which then subcontracts with a qualified private ambulance provider to support the delivery of emergency medical services,” Paso Robles City Manager Chris Huot said. “This is not based on a predetermined conclusion that one provider is best. The county’s competitive process will allow the Alliance and other qualified providers to present their proposed service models for objective evaluation.”
The SLO County Board of Supervisors greenlit the request for proposals process last October after a fire chiefs, mayors, city managers, and community members complained about long response times and working in an outdated system.
Paso Robles’ proposal challenges the 80-year service monopoly held by San Luis Ambulance. The competitive bidding process will award the ambulance services contract to the most cost-effective emergency medical service that best serves residents.
Pismo Beach, Arroyo Grande, and Atascadero expressed support for Paso Robles’ proposal by adopting resolutions. SLO and Grover Beach city councils will consider the resolution of support at future meetings.
Morro Bay City Council unanimously voted against adopting the resolution at its Sept. 8 meeting.
The Arroyo Grande and Atascadero city councils discussed the resolution that day too. Leadership and employees from San Luis Ambulance urged council members at all three meetings to decline adoption.
“Will this proposal actually improve emergency medical services in Arroyo Grande? Will it put more ambulances on the street? Will it improve response times? Will it improve patient care, and will it be a better value for the community?” San Luis Ambulance Operations Manager Kris Strommen asked at the Arroyo Grande meeting. “I don’t believe the evidence provided in the packet demonstrates that it will.”
In a letter to Arroyo Grande and Atascadero, San Luis Ambulance President Justin Kelton said calling the Alliance model “local” and “community-based” isn’t entirely accurate because it would subcontract ambulance operations to national ambulance company American Medical Response (AMR).
San Luis Ambulance stressed its regional identity to city officials.
“The resolution also says it will foster strong local partnerships and community-based [emergency medical services],” General Manager Chris Javine told the Atascadero City Council. “But when the day-to-day ambulance operations are subcontracted to [AMR], a large national corporation headquartered in Texas, it’s hard to see it as a truly local EMS partnership.”
‘Because the Alliance would be governed by local public agencies, its decisions, finances, contracts, and performance would be subject to public transparency and accountability requirements.’
—Chris Huot, Paso Robles city manager
Javine reminded Atascadero that the Alliance model doesn’t exist yet and so, it could be risky to implement. San Luis Ambulance Paramedic Field Supervisor and longtime Atascadero resident Nate Otter added that the company cares about the community, often donating ambulances and sponsoring local events.
Although cities adopted the resolution of support, it doesn’t mean they’re joining the Alliance model yet. Details like the cost of providing services under the Alliance model and the consequence if a city later decides to pull out of the agreement must still be worked out.
Ultimately, the decision about who wins the service contract rests with the county.
Atascadero City Councilmembers Seth Peek and Heather Newsom didn’t support Paso Robles’ efforts, but most city leaders from Arroyo Grande and Atascadero agreed that it was time to look at a new way to serve the public.
“To have a contract out for 80 years without rebidding it, that does not sit well with me,” Atascadero Mayor Charles Bourbeau said at the meeting. “It’s wise to go to the next step and see how things shake out from there.”
Paso Robles City Manager Huot told New Times that if the Alliance model is selected, it would continuously evaluate response performance, call demand, unit availability, geographic coverage, staffing, equipment, training, and overall system capacity.
“Because the Alliance would be governed by local public agencies, its decisions, finances, contracts, and performance would be subject to public transparency and accountability requirements, including open meetings, public records, public budgeting, and audits,” he said. “This level of public disclosure generally does not apply to a private ambulance provider operating independently.”
He added that past efforts to encourage San Luis Ambulance to implement improvements have been unsuccessful. But that could change thanks to the county’s upcoming request for proposals process that would set updated performance standards and service requirements.
“If [San Luis Ambulance] is selected through the competitive process, it would operate under these new expectations for modernizing ambulance service delivery throughout San Luis Obispo County,” Huot said. “Regardless of the provider ultimately selected, the RFP presents an important opportunity to move beyond a decades-old service model and establish a more modern, responsive, transparent, and accountable countywide ambulance system.” ∆
This article appears in Student Guide 2026.
