Big Cost Hike To Elmhurst Ambulance Pact Proposed

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst is poised to spend nearly 25 percent more on its annual ambulance contract.

On Monday, a City Council committee plans to review the contract with Elmhurst-based Superior Ambulance, which has served the city for decades.

Under the terms, the city is to pay the company $2 million for the year starting Sept. 1. That's an increase of $375,000, or 22 percent.

The increase is attributed to the hike in wages for paramedics.

In October 2020, the city amended its contract with Superior to increase the minimum starting wage for paramedics to $15.25 an hour, from $13.

In 2021, without an increase to its contract, Superior hiked the starting hourly wage to $21 to stay competitive, according to a city memo.

Under the new contract, that wage would increase to $24. If that happens, the starting wage would have increased by nearly 60 percent over two years.

The city memo noted the Norwood Park and Bartlett fire districts are trying to create in-house paramedic positions, ending their contracts with private companies. The new employees would become members of a public retirement system and possibly unionize, the city said.

"If (Elmhurst) were to hire full-time firefighters to replace the contract employees, we would need to hire a minimum of 18 firefighter paramedics," the memo said.

According to the memo, a city firefighter starts at $77,480 and reaches a maximum salary of $105,071 within seven years, not including benefits.

The length of the proposed contract would be a year, with the option to renew for three more years.

Superior wanted an escape valve because of the possibility of reduced reimbursements. It noted that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan recently cut the amount it reimburses for ambulance services by 50 percent.

If that happened in Illinois, it would have a big impact, according to the memo.

Under the proposal, Superior would have the right to reopen the contract after the first year if reimbursements were cut.