Union president says Priority, FCAG ‘close to a deal’ for ambulance service

(Fremont County, WY) – Efforts are underway this week to ensure continued ambulance service in Fremont County beginning Oct. 1.

The plan involves a potential agreement between the Fremont County Association of Governments and the county’s current emergency medical services provider, Priority Ambulance.

On Wednesday, local EMS Union President Dominick Sapien said Priority and FCAG are “close to a deal” in which Priority would continue providing ambulance service through the summer of 2027.

At that point, he said FCAG would take over ambulance operations using revenues from the three-quarter percent sales tax for economic development that voters approved last month.  

“Nothing is set in stone yet, (but) everybody seems very optimistic … about this deal going through,” Sapien said. “(It) seems like negotiations are going well.”

Strike

In an effort to support those negotiations, Sapien said he sent a letter to Priority Chief Operating Officer Phil Koster on Wednesday promising that, “once an agreement between Priority and FCAG is made,” the Union would “call off the strike” that is currently set to begin on Sept. 28.

The Union also agreed to “ask for no extra compensation” in Priority’s potential contract with FCAG, Sapien said. 

“We do not make this decision lightly,” he wrote in his letter to Koster, “but we truly feel that ensuring the smooth transition between Priority and FCAG services is the best decision for the long-term health of the service, and we do not want to get in the way of a deal getting brokered.”

Compensation was never “the point” for the Union, Sapien explained, referring to the recent contract negotiations between the Union, Priority, and the Fremont County Commission that resulted in last week’s vote to strike.

That vote did not represent a desire for higher wages, Sapien said – instead, it was a rejection of the Commission’s proposal to potentially transition local EMS service to Cody Regional Health. 

“We would rather take less (money) and be underneath the county and FCAG,” Sapien said this week, noting that, while only FCAG and Priority would be parties to the potential new EMS agreement, the process would still require involvement – and likely funding – from the Fremont County Commission.

FCAG will hold a regular meeting at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, at Riverton City Hall, 816 N. Federal Blvd. 

To attend the meeting remotely, click here.