City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: December 9, 2025
Agenda Item: 4.E
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Matthew Hallock, Fire Chief, Fire Department
Subject: Authorization for Procurement Manager to Issue Purchase Orders to Emergency Vehicle Group and Republic EVS for Purchase and Delivery of Ambulances
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt a finding of no possibility of significant effect pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines; and
2. Authorize the Procurement Manager to issue a purchase order with Emergency Vehicle Group, Inc for the purchase of two ambulances for the Fire Department.
This recommended award is made as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Section 2.24.250(c) and is for a total amount not to exceed $704,063 (including a 5% contingency) with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval; and
3. Authorize the Procurement Manager to issue a purchase order with Republic EVS for the purchase of four ambulances for the Fire Department. This recommended award is made as an exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Section 2.24.250(c) and is for a total amount not to exceed $1,054,807 (including a 5% contingency) with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
Starting February 1, 2026, the Santa Monica Fire Department (“SMFD”) will assume full operational control and responsibility for all ambulance transports for emergency incidents occurring within the City. This change is necessitated by the upcoming expiration of the City’s current ambulance transport provider agreement on January 31, 2026, and is also required by Council’s direction under the recently approved Santa Monica Realignment Plan. In order to have sufficient capacity to provide ambulance 2 of 6
transports SMFD will need to purchase several ambulances. Given the compressed timeframe of three months, staff recommends that the City Council authorize the issuance of purchase orders to two companies, Republic EVS and Emergency Vehicle Group, under an exception to the competitive bidding process via a cooperative purchasing agreement.
Discussion
For decades, the City of Santa Monica (“City”) has relied on a contracted third-party to provide emergency medical transport and billing services for the response, assessment, treatment, and/or transportation of members of the public by SMFD paramedics. In 2018, the City contracted with Westmed Ambulance Inc, dba McCormick Ambulance for these ambulance transport and billing services. This City’s current agreement expires on January 31, 2026.
Even though McCormick is the City’s main ambulance transport provider, the City is still required to have its own ambulances on standby in the event that McCormick is unavailable to provide an ambulance or for when demand exceeds available capacity (surge capacity). The use of City ambulances with its contractor’s ambulances is also required to allow McCormick to operate with the City’s legal authority to provide ambulance transportation services within its jurisdiction. Currently, SMFD has four ambulances in service. During an emergency medical call, an ambulance from McCormick and a SMFD apparatus (engine or truck) are dispatched to the scene of the incident. Of the 13,000 emergency medical calls that SMFD responds to annually, approximately 8,200 result in transports to a hospital.
On June 24, 2025, Council adopted the FY 2025-27 Biennial Budget which authorized an Ambulance Operator (“AO”) pilot program. SMFD received $150,000 from the General Fund to hire six as-needed AOs to conduct limited ambulance transports using Fire personnel and the City’s contractor Wittman Enterprises for billing services. After a recruitment process, including background checks and a two-week academy, the pilot program launched on September 29, 2025.
On October 28, 2025, Council adopted the Santa Monica Realignment Plan which ended the pilot program and authorized the full AO program. Upon expiration of the McCormick contract on January 31, 2026, SMFD will assume full responsibility of all 3 of 6
ambulance transports the next day, February 1, 2026. This necessitates an increase in SMFD’s ambulance fleet to have the capacity to meet the City’s transport needs, which will only be exacerbated by increased demand on SMFD ambulance transport capacity associated with several high profile upcoming events in the region such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 2026 NBA All-Star Game, 2027 Super Bowl LXI, and the 2028 Summer Olympics. In addition, the City Council set aside $1.8 million to fund the purchase of ambulances to ensure sufficient operational capacity by February 1, 2026.
With three months until SMFD fully assumes responsibility for ambulance transports, SMFD has to procure enough ambulances for the immediate February 1, 2026 deadline as well as the long-term. The current fleet comprises of only four ambulances – two of which will be retired when their replacements arrive, owing to age and significant wear and tear. SMFD needs to have at least four additional ambulances by February 1, 2026, with another two delivered shortly thereafter.
SMFD’s goal is to continue using ambulances that have “Type 3” capability. The City’s current ambulance fleet includes Type 3 vehicles which represent the maximum emergency response capability that can be provided. Type 3 ambulances are equipped for Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) transports. The image below represents a typical Type 3 ambulance, which is built on a cutaway van chassis, with the driver compartment that looks more like a truck.
A brand-new Type 3 ambulance takes about 12 months to build and deliver. 4 of 6
A Type 2 ambulance resembles a transit van. It is a single unit, comprising of the transit van body, and requires far less time to procure and deliver. The image below represents a typical Type 2 ambulance.
The most obvious difference is visual, with the Type 2 ambulance having a unibody with a raised roof for more headroom and a narrower body. The Type 2 ambulance is more suited for a BLS transport, while the Type 3 is better suited for ALS transport. Due to ambulance availability and delivery delays, SMFD is opting to explore a diverse approach to equipment based on availability and suitability to the transport mission.
Because significant time constraints are present, staff recommends purchasing four Type 3 ambulances and two Type 2 ambulances at this time. The proposed purchase complies with an exception to the City’s competitive bidding process that requires the use of cooperative purchasing agreements with the two proposed vendors that can meet the City’s ambulance needs.
Vendor Selection
Exception to Competitive Bidding (ECB)
Staff recommends Emergency Vehicle Group and Republic EVS to furnish and deliver a total of six ambulances as an exception to competitive bidding per the Procurement division approved ECB #330 and #331, per Muni Code 2.24.250 (c).
c. competitive procedures were followed by a governmental agency, federal, state, county, city, joint powers agency, special district, or cooperative purchasing agency and the goods or services are supplied to the City at the same or better price.
First, staff recommends using the Sourcewell cooperative agreement to purchase two Type 3 ambulances from Emergency Vehicle Group (EVG, operating under REV 5 of 6
Group). These ambulances will be delivered by February 1, 2026, ready to respond to emergencies. EVG is a local vendor based in Anaheim, CA. Staff recommends a purchase order with EVG for $704,063, which includes a 5% contingency of $33,527.
Second, staff recommends using the Houston-Galveston Area Council (HGAC) Cooperative Purchasing Program to purchase four ambulances from Republic EVS.
These ambulances are divided into two Type 2 ambulances that will arrive by February 1, 2026, and two Type 3 ambulances that will arrive in April and June 2026. Republic is a local vendor based in Huntington Beach, CA, and widely used in this region, including Torrance, Anaheim, and West Covina. Staff recommends a purchase order with Republic for $1,054,807, which includes a 5% contingency of $50,229.
The determination to utilize two vendors for separate purchases is based primarily on the applicable timeframe that SMFD has to ensure the City’s ambulance capacity.
SMFD cannot purchase all Type 2 ambulances, as this would compromise the Department’s ability to deliver ALS care. At the same time, it takes 12 months to build new Type 3 ambulances. Staff selected vendors that had existing stock or demo models available for purchase.
By February 1, 2026, SMFD will have a total of eight ambulances serving the community. The fleet will be comprised of the four existing Type 3 ambulances, two new Type 2 ambulances, and two new Type 3 ambulances. When the last two Type 3 ambulances arrive in April and June 2026, then the two oldest ambulances will be retired. Supplies and equipment, such as Stryker gurneys and stair chairs, will be repurposed and moved from the retired vehicles to the new vehicles. Staff is also utilizing limited grant funding to purchase required equipment such as an Automated External Defibrillator and additional gurneys.
Environmental Review
The issuance of purchase orders is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (Common Sense Exemption) of the CEQA Guidelines, which states that CEQA does not apply “where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment.” The purchase orders for the ambulances will facilitate emergency services by the City. Therefore, it can be seen with certainty that the agreement would 6 of 6
not result in adverse physical impacts on the environment, and as such is exempt from CEQA.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the General Fund to award purchase orders to Emergency Vehicle Group and Republic EVS for the purchase of ambulances.
Purchase Order Request
Vendor FY 2025-26
Request Amount CIP Account # Total Purchase Order Amount Emergency Vehicle Group $704,063 C0109200.689000 $704,063 Republic EVS $1,054,807 C0109200.689000 $1,054,807
Total $1,758,870
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Prepared By: Jonathan Tang, Principal Administrative Analyst Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Republic EVS - Levine
B. Republic EVS - Oaks
C. EVG - Levine
D. EVG - Oaks