TENSIONS FLARE AT WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONER WORKSHOP ON EMS OPERATIONS

  

Discussion over the operations of Washington County EMS turned tense on Thursday during a commissioners court workshop.

County officials and local resident Carol Collins exchanged heated dialogue regarding how the EMS department should function, with Collins arguing the department is bloated and not running efficiently for local taxpayers, and commissioners firing back that her claims were misinformed and brought about by ulterior motives.

The workshop began with a conversation on animal services and the possibility of the county contributing toward a spay/neuter program for county residents.  Collins, who recently presented the City of Brenham with a $20,000 donation to be earmarked for that purpose, asked the county to collaborate with the city by providing funding or establishing new interlocal agreements (ILAs). 

Commissioners explained that the existing ILA between the county and the city, and the separation of services that it entails, means that just as the city does not have to pay the county for maintaining things like the jail or emergency dispatch, the county is not required to put money toward animal services.  According to Commissioners Misti Hartstack Corn and Dustin Majewski, the reason the county did not contribute funding the last time the city asked was because the city could not guarantee that the county’s money would go specifically toward county residents.  Collins said she trusts the Animal Services team to respect her wishes for the funding she donated, and the court said it intends to have more talks with the city on the matter. 

Shifting to EMS, Collins said her attempts to find money to free up in the county’s budget for the spay/neuter program led her to look further into the EMS department’s finances, which she believes have been mismanaged and become excessive through the amount of overtime pay and stipends employees receive.  She also questioned the department’s involvement in the Texas A&M Task Force 1 water rescue program, contending that it contributes to long overtime hours for the employees who stay behind while other team members deploy across the state on rescue missions.  She said that can pose issues fiscally and for the safety of those employees, who need to be well-rested to properly respond to and treat patients.

Additionally, Collins was skeptical of the department’s air ambulance program and its associated costs versus its benefits, as well as the hiring process for new EMS Director Taylor Leonard.  She asserted that former EMS Director Kevin Deramus’ statement in February that the department is in “the best place we’ve ever been” was inaccurate in terms of its revenue/expenditures split and how much taxpayers are responsible for, and she feels with Leonard being an internal hire that her stated concerns are more likely to be exacerbated than rectified. She urged commissioners to remove the EMS department from Texas A&M Task Force 1 in order to focus on emergency care for local patients, eliminate the air ambulance program, dismantle the existing compensation program, and seek out an outside hire at director to establish a reworked compensation plan that creates a better work-life balance for employees. 

Responding to Collins’ points, Commissioner Candice Bullock asked if Collins thought Washington County should not assist other counties if it is able to during major flooding events, or that the county should turn away the help from other counties should a disaster occur locally.  Collins said participating in the state rescue program has been a “disaster” for the county, adding that she wants the department to do a better job of managing and compensating its people without having to rely on extensive overtime.  Hartstack Corn asked if Collins had talked personally with paramedics to see if they were unhappy or felt overworked, saying she has not heard any complaints from them regarding their number of hours.  Hartstack Corn and Bullock said the county goes through multiple audits, and County Judge John Durrenberger said the county receives reimbursement from the state for the employees who deploy on rescue missions, for backfilled employees, and associated benefits.

Majewski said the county has several long-term employees who have learned the ropes of their departments and asked Collins why she felt they should not have an opportunity to lead said department.  Collins said she felt Deramus became “entrenched” and that he received everything he asked for.  Bullock answered that Deramus earned the court’s trust by coming years in advance and providing the data needed to make its decisions.  She added that several fresh sets of eyes have come onto the commissioners court, providing the opportunity to make changes with the EMS department if something was wrong.  She asked, “If we are so shameful in creating such a disaster on the taxpayers, and this same narrative has been going around for decades, how is it that we’re all just dumb?”

After Collins noted the 390 overtime hours Leonard logged in July and August of last year, Human Resources Director Amber Skalka asked her how she obtained that information.  Collins said she received it from “a friend who had received some information for other purposes,” and after being pressed further, she revealed that those other purposes pertained to the payment of child support for Leonard’s family.  Commissioners condemned Collins’ efforts as a personal attack on Leonard, based upon her having a relationship with Leonard’s ex-wife.  Skalka said those documents Collins obtained were private, court documents.  However, Collins said the information she presented is accessible via open records request, and that the only information that would not have been available had she requested the data on those months herself would have been Leonard’s deductions, which would have appeared redacted.  Leonard, when asked about his overtime hours last summer, said he was backfilling for the team who was deployed to the Kerrville area for the Hill Country floods.  He later thanked Collins for bringing light to the matter of overtime hours, because it shows the public how much EMS employees work to serve the community.

Referring to the employee stipends, Hartstack Corn and Bullock said all other first responder agencies have pay incentive opportunities tailored to their line of work, and Skalka upheld that the county possesses consistent and fair pay practices across all neighboring cities and counties.  Regarding the hiring of Leonard, Skalka said the EMS Director job was posted for nine business days through the county’s normal realms and avenues for director-level roles, and each interviewee was evaluated by the same interview committee, questions and rating system.  Three people were interviewed in total and, according to Skalka, another candidate who was offered the job first ended up withdrawing their application because they were anticipating about double the salary of what was ultimately offered to Leonard.  Skalka said Leonard is estimated to receive $144,000 in total salary this year, compared to the $161,000 that Deramus was on track to receive this year. 

Discussing the air ambulance program, Bullock said if the county were to get rid of it today, taxpayers would have to come up with approximately $200,000 - $300,000 in lost revenue to supplement EMS ground operations, but Collins disputed the assertion that the air program is producing revenue, insisting that its true costs are buried in the budget and outweigh the money earned.  Majewski and Kelly Strader of the Prairie Hill Volunteer Fire Department asked what is the cost of a human life.  Hartstack Corn labeled Collins’ actions “distasteful” and the product of a “personal vendetta.”  Collins said what was “distasteful” to her were the department’s management practices and that it is not performing as well as the county says it is, to which Bullock snapped back that Collins should spend more time researching what goes into running the department before making “salacious accusations” and “gaslighting our community.”

According to financial figures shared by Chief of Staff Carrie Marmol, EMS’ total revenue for 2025 was $9,037,226, while the total expenditures – including ground and air – were $11,796,210, meaning the amount that taxpayers had to cover for was $2,758,984, roughly 23.3 percent, with the department handling the rest.  Collins said 2025’s audited financials are not available yet, so looking at 2024’s audited figures she presented, the total revenue of $7,216,961 and the total expenses of $10,870,379 lead to a difference of $3,653,418, or a 33.6 percent portion for taxpayers to cover.

A local resident who commented on the helicopter program as the workshop wound to a close said her family experienced the need for the helicopter when her 3-year-old child had full respiratory failure and had to quickly be flown to the hospital.  She said the family did not have to pay the cost for transport, and if they did not have access to the county’s own helicopter and had to rely on one out of Austin or Houston, her child would likely not be here today.

In post-workshop emails sent by Collins to KWHI and county officials, she said she was “appalled” at the way she was treated at the meeting and “extremely disappointed in the elected officials who chose to vilify me instead of seriously considering any of the information I presented,” adding that she “genuinely wants the best for Washington County.”  She maintained that “there is no vendetta” against Leonard and that she did not intend to bring up his personal matters in public, saying they “had absolutely nothing to do with any element in my presentation” and are “not my business.”