Late in Thursday's FY2027 budget straw vote, Vice Chair Leigh Altman (At-Large) said this: "The essential argument that has been made for MEDIC has been one of fairness. And the deeper we dive into this, the less clear it is." Within twenty-five minutes, the board had voted 5-3 to place $2,293,759 in restricted contingency rather than fund a same-day move of MEDIC's EMT minimum wage from $21.01 to the new county minimum of $25.53. The dollars are parked. Releasing them requires a future board action. As of Thursday afternoon, MEDIC's lowest-paid employees — the roughly 270 the agency reported below $25.53 per hour, or about 40 percent of its workforce — remain at their current pay structure.
MEDIC — formally the Mecklenburg EMS Agency — is the joint-government agency that provides emergency medical services across the county. Its compensation structure is set independently by its own board, not directly by the county. About 76 percent of MEDIC's operating revenue comes from fees for service, MEDIC Executive Director John "JP" Peterson told the board; the remaining 24 percent comes as subsidy from Mecklenburg County. That subsidy is what was on the table Thursday.
What the morning looked like
Five commissioners had submitted budget questions on MEDIC's wage gap before Thursday's session, Commissioner Elaine Powell (District 1) told the board. On the floor, she took up the issue first.
"MEDIC deserves more than $25.53 an hour, but it's a start," Powell told the board. "It is a 2.6 billion dollar budget. 3.5 million is less — it is, like, I think it's less than 0.2 percent. We are better than this." Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell (District 6) followed: "I don't think we can kick the can down the road for another fiscal year and expect them to not revolt." Commissioner Laura J. Meier (District 5) joined.
The proposed move would have cost approximately $3.5 million in its first partial fiscal year, with an annualization of roughly $1.4 million heading into FY28. Rodriguez-McDowell put the figure on the floor as $3,519,882 and asked Budget Director Adrian Cox for the tax-rate impact. Cox returned a one-cent increase, from the current 49.27 to 49.38. Rodriguez-McDowell then withdrew that motion.
What the numbers showed
Deputy County Manager Derrick Ramos and Peterson then walked the board through the comparison the manager had asked them to develop in response to the questions the five commissioners had filed.
The pay-band picture, in their numbers: MEDIC's current EMT starting wage is $21.01 per hour, about a dollar and seven cents above the county's prior $20.00 minimum. MEDIC's current paramedic starting wage is $25.00. MEDIC's FY27 average merit, supported in Manager Bryant's budget, is 4 percent; the county-employee average is 2.5 percent. MEDIC frontline staff (EMTs, paramedics, dispatchers) are eligible for performance-based incentive pay paid three times a year, with a maximum of $1,000 per cycle, or $3,000 annually. New external hires are eligible for sign-on bonuses — up to $1,500 for EMTs, up to $6,000 for paramedics. None of those structures exist for Mecklenburg County employees in the recommended FY27 budget.
Manager Mike Bryant put the parity framing on the record. "When there's a statement made that MEDIC employees deserve more than $25.53, I would argue that county employees deserve the same consideration as well," he said. "Because we also have county employees that go into dangerous environments and risk their lives also on behalf of this organization."
Two outside studies are running. Healthcare Strategist, the consulting firm conducting the EMS system assessment, is expected to deliver its final report by July, per Peterson. Willis Towers Watson, in conjunction with the Academy of International Mobile Healthcare Integrations, is running a tri-annual compensation benchmark expected in November. Both are intended to inform FY28 — not FY27.
The alternative, the substitute, and the vote
Manager Bryant offered an alternative. The county's recommended budget had used $2.2 million of one-time general-fund dollars to fund ambulance replacement this year — a departure from the historical practice of paying for ambulances from fund balance — with the intent that those general-fund dollars would shift to support the EMS system study in FY28. Bryant proposed swapping that order: appropriate $2,293,759 of fund balance for the ambulances now (the historical practice), which would free up the general-fund dollars currently held for ambulances to instead fund MEDIC's move to $25.53 in FY27. Peterson agreed to the operational mechanics. Rodriguez-McDowell adopted the motion.
Altman then asked a different question. "If we were to put a certain amount of money in restricted contingency to give you the time to find out, do the math, and confirm for us what would it take to give parity so that we treat them the same as the rest of our staff — how would that land with you and your recommendation?" Bryant proposed that the $2,293,759 sit in restricted contingency while the studies completed and the board returned for a release vote with the full compensation picture in view. Altman moved to substitute.
Five commissioners voted to substitute: Altman, Commissioner George Dunlap (District 3), Commissioner Vilma D. Leake (District 2), Commissioner Arthur Griffin (At-Large), and Chair Mark D. Jerrell (District 4). Three voted against: Powell, Rodriguez-McDowell, and Meier.
Dunlap explained his vote on the floor. "Number one, it does not increase taxes. Number two, it does not create a structural deficit. Number three, it funds the pay that I believe MEDIC employees deserve. And number four, I trust my manager."
Rodriguez-McDowell, in her closing comments after the vote: "I'm disappointed in the last development here around putting money in restricted contingency, waiting around… I am glad that it isn't a closed door on MEDIC getting that minimum wage. I do wish it wasn't going to be delayed." Powell, separately: "I'm just totally against this. Restricted contingency. It just delays it… It's dispiriting. I'm against it."
What happens next
The board voted 7-1 to direct staff to develop the FY27 operating budget ordinance for adoption on June 2. The single nay was not identified by the chair.
The restricted-contingency dollars cannot be released without further board action. The Healthcare Strategist report is expected by July. The Willis Towers Watson benchmark is expected in November. MEDIC's own board has directed Peterson to bring a management response to the system study to its September meeting, with a final response in December — in time for the county's FY28 budget process. Whether the $2,293,759 in restricted contingency moves before then will depend on whether five commissioners decide it should, and on what the studies tell them.
The Mercury covered the full slate of additional fund-balance allocations — thirteen items, $1.6 million — here. The procedural recap of Thursday's straw vote is here.