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An ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, establishing a protocol for distributing funding pursuant to the appropriations relating to Emergency Medical System operational support made in the County’s Grants & Special Accounts budget.
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Whereas, on December 2, 2025, Allegheny County Council enacted the County’s 2026 Grants and Special Accounts budget, which was subsequently signed into law by Chief Executive Innamorato as Resolution 14-25-RE; and
Whereas, under the provisions of 14-25-RE, $1 million is set aside for “EMS Operational Support” from revenue derived by the County from the settlement of litigation relating to opioid over-prescription; and
Whereas, the intention of this appropriation is to provide badly needed assistance to the region’s EMS providers, who incurred significant expense in responding to opioid-related emergency calls throughout the County; and
Whereas, Exhibit E to the settlement agreement allows for the expenditure of settlement funds for certain opioid-related EMS needs; and
Whereas, it is anticipated that opioid settlement funding in varying amounts will be received by the County through December of 2038, and during the 2026 budget deliberations, Council’s Committee on Budget and Finance specifically discussed providing equivalent or larger appropriations for the same purpose for at least the next two budget years; and
Whereas, it is therefore the desire of Council to establish a protocol for disbursing opioid settlement funds to EMS services within the County pursuant to the “EMS Operational Support” line item in 2026 and subsequent budget years;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1. Incorporation of the Preamble.
The provisions set forth in the preamble to this Ordinance are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.
SECTION 2. EMS Operational Support Funding.
To the extent that any enacted County grants & special account budget contains a line item for operational support to EMS entities within the County, the following conditions shall govern disbursement of funding pursuant to that line item:
A. The 32 members of the Allegheny County Emergency Medical Services Council (ACEMSC) shall be eligible to receive funding, solely for the purpose(s) of:
1. Purchasing or repairing an ambulance or other EMS designated equipment, or
2. Making debt service payments on debt associated with the purchase or repair of an ambulance or other EMS designated equipment.
B. Funding distributions shall be based on an application process, as follows:
1. An opening and closing date for annual applications shall be announced pursuant to the terms of Subsection C by Allegheny County, through ACEMSC. In no instance shall the application closing date be later than July 1 of any calendar year, nor shall the application window be shorter than thirty (30) days in length.
2. Application forms shall be established by the County and ACEMSC pursuant to the terms of Subsection C, and shall be based upon existing application forms for grant funding administered by ACEMSC, as attached to this Ordinance. The option to file an application electronically shall be made available to all applicants.
3. All applications must include a quote or bid for the entire use of the requested annual grant funds of the intended project.
4. Funds disbursed may cover all or a portion of an eligible project, but may only be expended for the purpose(s) specifically authorized at the time of disbursement.
5. Approval or denial of any application shall be based upon the criteria set forth in this Ordinance, consistent with the provisions contained within the attachment to this Ordinance.
6. Funds will be distributed to the individual EMS agencies by Allegheny County. Funds must be expended in the year in which they are distributed.
7. EMS agencies receiving funding shall provide a final written report delineating expenditures of approved funds by October 1 of each calendar year. Such reports shall include supporting documentation for each expenditure.
8. If the entire amount of disbursed funds is not expended in a given calendar year, the remaining balance must be returned to Allegheny County by December 31 of such year.
9. Expenditure of funding for any purpose not specifically authorized at the time of disbursement is expressly forbidden. Any such expenditures shall be returned to Allegheny County and are subject to the provisions of the Administrative Code of Allegheny County relating to false claims, and the EMS agency conducting the improper expenditure shall not be eligible for future funds under this program.
C. Applications shall be created, received, reviewed, and approved or rejected by a panel of five (5) individuals, consisting of the Allegheny County Director of Management and Budget (or such director’s designee), the Chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services (or his/her designee), and three individuals selected by ACEMSC from among its membership.
1. No later than February 28th of each year, the panel shall announce the application window for that year.
2. Applications shall be reviewed and approved or rejected within 30 days of the end of the application deadline. All applicants shall be provided with written or electronic notice of their approval or denial.
3. Applications that are timely filed, sufficient in form and content, and that meet the eligibility requirements established under the terms of Subsection A of this Ordinance shall be approved. All other applications shall be denied.
4. Funding for any budget year shall be divided and disbursed equally among the approved applicants and disbursed no later than July 30 of that year, but in no instance shall an award exceed $35,000 to any individual EMS agency in any single grant year.
D. In the event that the entire appropriated amount for any budget year is not awarded through the process delineated in Subsections A, B, and C, a second round of applications and awards may be opened by the panel established in Subsection C, with the approval of the County Manager. The provisions of Subsection A, Subsections B.2. through B.9., and C.2. and C.3. shall apply to such second round of applications. In the event that a second round of applications is authorized under the terms of this Subsection, in no instance shall the total award to any individual EMS agency exceed $70,000 in any single grant year.
E. The Allegheny County Controller shall be empowered to audit both disbursements of funds under the terms of this Ordinance and expenditures of such funds by successful applicants. Applicants shall consent to reasonable access to their relevant financial and other records upon request by the Controller pursuant to this function as a condition of receiving any funding.
SECTION 3. Effective Date.
The provisions of this Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon final approval.
SECTION 4. Severability. If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
SECTION 5. Repealer. Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.