By Mary Ramsey
The Charlotte Observer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-area leaders will gather Wednesday for a special meeting to sort through contract disputes between Charlotte-area fire departments and the region’s emergency medical services agency.
The meeting will occur months before a series of deadlines about contracts related to who responds to emergency calls.
The Mecklenburg EMS Agency, known as MEDIC, leads emergency medical services in the county. But area fire departments also respond to tens of thousands of medical calls every year under decades-old deals, some of which expire this summer.
MEDIC has been negotiating new deals with Charlotte, Huntersville and Cornelius for months. But sticking points remain, especially over whether the county should continue to provide funding to fire departments. MEDIC’s stance is that the current funding set-up is outdated. Some fire officials say losing that money could create “significant” issues.
Officials including county commissioners, local mayors and local county and town managers will meet at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center to discuss MEDIC, according to a special meeting notice.
How MEDIC and fire departments work together
Fire departments are “by design” typically first on scene in an emergency with crews that can provide “immediate basic life support,” MEDIC executive director John Peterson told Mecklenburg County commissioners during an April 15 presentation.
The Charlotte Fire Department responded to about 80,000 medical calls in fiscal year 2024 according to the presentation. And other Mecklenburg fire departments responded to an additional 17,161 EMS calls during the same time period.
“Area fire departments have served as an integral part of Mecklenburg County’s EMS system for many years,” Peterson told commissioners. “Their role as first responders is critical to our overall system design and performance.”
Fire departments help especially with less serious calls that may not require transport to a hospital by ambulance and with sudden cardiac arrest calls, Peterson said.
MEDIC’s current contract with Charlotte Fire expires July 5. Huntersville’s deal expires July 7, and Cornelius’s contract expires Aug. 15.
The contracts date back to the mid-1990s and included provisions that the county, through MEDIC, provide money to the fire departments for EMS work, medical supplies and equipment.
Contract disputes over funding, service drag on
That money is one of the key issues between MEDIC and the fire departments.
MEDIC says the funding structure dates back to a time when most fire departments were volunteer-based and couldn’t collect tax dollars to support their work. Now, affected departments are part of their respective municipal governments and have other funding sources.
Despite this, according to Peterson, Charlotte and Huntersville want more money. No other North Carolina counties use the same system, Peterson told county commissioners.
County Manager Dena Diorio said at the April 15 meeting she sees “no reason that the county should be providing any funding to any municipal fire department for first responder services.”
“The city levies taxes, gives it to the fire department. The towns levy taxes,” she said. “The citizens are already paying for that service.”
But Charlotte Fire says losing county money “raises significant operational, legal, and financial questions” for “all fire departments providing EMS first responder services in our community.”
“Charlotte Fire and our town fire department partners have a long-standing history of providing exceptional EMS care to the residents and visitors of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County,” Fire Chief Reginald Johnson said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer “We remain committed to working through this process in a professional and responsible way, ensuring that the emergency response system in Mecklenburg County is both sustainable and properly supported.”
Huntersville declined to comment on the situation, citing ongoing negotiations with MEDIC.
“The Town of Huntersville remains committed to serving its residents and providing lifesaving first responder services,” spokesman Ethan Smith said.
A spokesperson for Cornelius did not respond to multiple questions from an Observer reporter.
In addition to funding debates, multiple fire departments also want to see MEDIC increase staffing and provide more detailed data on response times, Peterson said in his presentation. The departments want to respond to fewer non-emergency calls, especially during major events and severe weather, according to MEDIC.
Mecklenburg’s northern towns — Huntersville, Davidson and Cornelius — want dedicated ambulances in their region.
Multiple county commissioners described the situation as confusing and concerning after the April 15 MEDIC presentation.
“I think our friends at the towns have a completely different position that I’ve got to get a better understanding of and grapple with,” Board Chairman Mark Jerrell said, calling for more discussion and collaboration between “stakeholders” ahead of upcoming deadlines.
Wednesday’s meeting is open to the public and will be available to watch online at watch.mecknc.gov.
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