Prattville Council Unanimously Amends Ambulance Policy for Retirees

The Prattville City Council voted unanimously on Jan. 6 to amend the language of the city's ambulance-fee policy, ensuring that retired municipal employees will not receive bills for ambulance transport to hospital. The change adjusts the policy wording to permit write-offs of retiree accounts; it does not modify the established ambulance fee schedule.

City officials said the amendment followed a review by the Ambulance Fee Committee in December. That panel, which includes the fire chief, the EMS officer, the finance director and the fire committee chairman, recommended the language change to prevent retired employees from being billed and to streamline handling of those accounts. Council members approved the committee's recommendation after moving the item from the consent agenda to the regular agenda so the ordinance language could be read aloud before a vote.

The council discussion reflected concerns about transparency and visibility. Some council members and members of the public requested that the policy language be available for review rather than bundled on the consent agenda, prompting the mayor and council to place the item on the regular agenda for reading prior to passage. City leaders said that step ensured elected officials and the public could see the precise policy language before casting their votes.

Fire Chief Josh Bingham explained the practical effect of the amendment: it avoids billing the city's self-funded insurance for retired employees and prevents internal billing and collection conflicts. By clarifying that retiree ambulance accounts may be written off under city policy, Prattville aims to reduce administrative friction between billing staff and the city's insurance program, and to limit confusing or duplicative bills reaching former employees.

For local retirees and their families, the change eliminates the prospect of receiving ambulance bills tied to services provided while employed. For taxpayers and city administrators, the policy seeks to handle retiree accounts administratively rather than through insurance claims or collection routes, preserving the fee schedule for other users of emergency medical transport.

The council's action placed emphasis on procedural openness and on resolving an administrative issue that had created potential internal conflicts. Moving forward, city billing staff will apply the amended language when processing ambulance accounts for retired employees, while fees for current residents and nonretiree users remain governed by the unchanged schedule.