The Honolulu Emergency Services Department asked the Budget Committee on March 12 for targeted increases in its 2026 operating and CIP budgets to replace ambulances, add one 12‑hour ambulance unit and move federally funded CORE positions onto the city payroll.

The department’s director designee, James Ireland, told the committee the 2026 request is split among three branches: administration (a 3.5% increase, about $257,000), emergency medical services (about a 4.6% increase, roughly $1.8 million) and the health services branch (about a 5.4% increase, about $75,000). “A brand new ambulance is is approaching a half a million dollars each,” Ireland said as he explained the department’s plan to favor remounts over full replacements.

Those remounts are central to the department’s plan. Ireland said the EMS budget includes roughly $3.0 million to fund about 11 ambulance remounts for 2026. He described a remount as taking an existing ambulance box, refurbishing it and mounting it on a new chassis — a process he said typically costs about half what a fully new vehicle does. The department completed six new ambulances and 12 remounts from last year’s budget and expects most of those units to be in service this spring; the new request would add 11 more remounts to rejuvenate a roughly 50‑vehicle fleet.

Why it matters: remounts are intended to deliver newer chassis and reduced capital cost while increasing on‑road ambulance availability. Ireland said remounting is a strategy to speed delivery and lower cost: “remounting for the next few budget cycles, makes a lot more fiscal sense and will get us actually new, chassis, on the road and a lot faster and more economical than brand new ambulances.”

Other budget highlights and capital projects

• One additional 12‑hour ambulance unit is included in the proposal to expand coverage.

• CIP requests include renovation of the Kahuku ambulance facility (expanding the station from about 900 sq. ft. to over 3,000 sq. ft. with two bays) and a Waipio training facility that the department says will house backup dispatch, simulation labs and driver training; Ireland said moving some functions out of leased airport space could reduce roughly $700,000 in annual rent expense.

CORE staffing and funding transition

Committee members pressed Ireland about CORE, the department’s community outreach and homelessness response team. Ireland said CORE positions historically were funded by federal (FRF/recovery) grants and that, as that funding diminished, the administration converted many roles first to city‑funded contracts and plans to transition the program to permanent civil service roles over several budget cycles. He said the proposed budget carries a large increase in contract FTEs tied to CORE and that the department’s long‑term goal is to “right size CORE for the mission” and move most roles into civil service so funding is stable.

Revenue, vacancies and overtime

Deputy Director Ian Santee told the committee the department receives about $3.5 million a year in state car‑registration revenue and bills third‑party payers for ambulance services; Ireland said the department estimates collections of about $45.5 million in ambulance billing for 2026 but warned collections depend on payer mix and Medicare/Medicaid rates. On staffing, Ireland said the EMS snapshot listed about 40 vacancies at the time of presentation and that roughly 55 candidates were in the hiring pipeline, with about 20 starting immediately and more entering training through July.

Committee questions and outstanding items

Council members asked for more detail on past special‑projects funding and the large step‑up in some administration salary lines after ocean safety was removed from the EMS budget; Ireland acknowledged several one‑time and grant funding flows (including FRF) affected year‑to‑year comparisons and agreed to transmit written clarifications. Members also pressed for overtime and billing collection detail; Ireland said he would provide clearer revenue and lapse accounting to the committee.

Ending

The department’s requests prioritize fleet renewal through remounts, training and facility work to reduce leasing costs, and a planned transition of CORE positions from federal contracts to city funding and eventual civil service. Committee members asked for follow‑up documents on revenue assumptions, overtime actuals and the schedule for converting CORE contract roles into permanent positions.