City Manager Backs Hartson’s for Contract

Hartson’s Medical Services should be awarded the City of San Diego’s paramedic contract, worth $9.6 million over the next four years, the city manager’s office recommended on Monday.

The recommendation favored Hartson’s although runner-up Buck ambulance service offered a proposal that would be $86,000 cheaper per year.

City Manager John Lockwood said Monday that his office gave the nod to Hartson’s because the company has provided good service during its current paramedic contract with the city. A changeover to Buck could run the “risk” of disrupting that service, he said.

“The difference in cost between the two became relatively minor,” Lockwood said.

The contract--the city’s biggest, most coveted and most hotly contested--is for 1988 to 1991. Last-minute negotiations with Hartson’s prompted the company to lop off $2 million from its original proposal, bringing the cost down to $9.6 million. The Buck bid, which came in originally at $6.3 million, was increased to $9.2 million when the company increased the number of units on call, said a city manager’s report. The contract will be paid out of the city’s general fund.

To help alleviate the fiscal burden, the manager’s office is also suggesting that paramedic fees be increased. The current average charge for paramedic service is $222. Deputy City Manager Coleman Conrad said Monday that one proposal would increase the user fee by $35, costing the city about $500,000 less a year out of its general fund.