A stroke of good fortune has enabled Sumter County to receive a dozen ambulances possibly by the end of the year.
County Administrator Bradley Arnold told commissioners Tuesday night at a workshop meeting that another customer ordered the ambulances from REV RTC Inc., then backed out of the deal. That allowed the county to step in as a replacement for that customer.
The county will pay about $3.1 million for the 12 ambulances. Arnold said the ambulance chassis-es could be delivered by December.
Commissioners voted last September to transfer ambulance services to the Sumter County and Villages fire departments by Oct. 1 from American Medical Response (AMR), a national private provider. AMR came under fire last year for slow response times and a study committee recommended the fire departments take over the service.
AMR and its predecessor, Rural Metro, have provided emergency ambulance services in Sumter County for a decade.
The Villages Public Safety Department has ordered ambulances expected to arrive by summer and plans to meet the Oct. 1 deadline. The Sumter County Fire Department provides service outside The Villages.
Based in Ocala, Tallahassee and Fort Lauderdale, REV Inc. has sold ambulances to Hernando County, Key West, Orlando and other Florida communities.
Arnold also told commissioners that about half of the county’s $25.7 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds could be spent on discretionary projects such as the ambulances, fire and emergency medical services.
A U.S. Treasury guideline for spending the money is expected this spring. Sumter County received about half the money last summer and the other half is due in August. It must be appropriated by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026.
The other half of the money has been earmarked for sewer and water improvements in Lake Panasoffkee, Webster, Center Hill and Bushnell as well as improving broadband internet service.
At the workshop meeting, commissioners identified their two top priorities as ambulance purchases and construction of a new county service center near County Road 470 and U.S. 301.