Brick EMS Had Its Busiest Year Ever in 2024, Will Add Staff in 2025

A Brick Police EMS-Rescue vehicle. (Photo: Brick Police EMS-Rescue)

The Brick Township Police Department’s EMS-Rescue division had its busiest year ever in 2024, responding to just over 11,200 calls for service over the course of the year, said the division’s director, James Riccio. As a result, the department will grow with four new employees expected to be added in 2025 after the township passes its annual operating budget.

Brick Police EMS is one of the largest squads in Ocean County, with multiple special operations units and unique duties in the coastal environment.

“In addition to the variety of medical emergencies the division handles on a daily basis, a number of our EMS personnel are also specially trained as tactical medics who serve alongside our police department’s SERT (SWAT) team,” said Riccio.

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The uptick in call volume has prompted officials to look toward increasing the personnel roster of the division, which will in turn translate to a larger expenditure in this year’s township budget. In 2024, the department budgeted $2,575,000 for salaries and $225,000 for overtime, ultimately ending up spending $227,036 on overtime. This year, the division has requested a salary budget of $2.8 million and $225,000 for overtime.

A Brick Police EMS-Rescue vehicle. (Photo: Brick Police EMS-Rescue)

“The increase in the salary budget is in anticipation of adding two new EMS supervisors and increasing our ranks by two EMTs,” said Riccio. “The adding of the supervisors will reduce the span of control and allow for better oversight.”

The 66-member squad currently employs one director, 32 full-time EMTs, 26 part-time EMTs and seven seasonal EMTs. Responders operate from three locations: Civic Plaza, on Chambers Bridge Road, a station on Lanes Mill Road, and a station on Aurora Place in the Lake Riviera section. The division’s administrative offices are expected to move later this year to the new Brick Police Special Operations Building, located behind the municipal complex.

The division’s costs are covered to a large extent by insurance reimbursements. Under Brick’s long-standing policy, the squad will bill insurance companies for its services, but will not charge individual residents beyond what their insurance carrier will pay. The processing of the insurance billing, however, has also grown more expensive due to the increase in call volume. Last year, Riccio said, the department was over-budget by about $4,000 in its total operating budget due to the billing costs.

A Brick Police EMS-Rescue vehicle. (Photo: Brick Police EMS-Rescue)

“Situations such as injured personnel and minimum staffing levels contributed to the overage, but it should be noted that the scheduling of part-time personnel to fill openings on a shift is a policy we use to control overtime costs,” Riccio said. “The overage was because of an increase in the amount paid to our EMS billing company, which was the result of the increase in call volume”

Overall, the EMS squad cost $3,493,194 in 2024, but was reimbursed to the tune of $2,426,819 in medical billing. Duty assignments generated another $7,840 and a car seat safety grant rounded out the division’s revenue by $2,976. Riccio also said the squad must account for the increasing cost of medical supplies, expert services, and maintenance contracts.

The division will also continue programs such as car seat checks for residents, CPR and first aid instruction, plus presentations on controlling blood loss in emergencies.

Mayor Lisa Crate’s proposed 2025 operating budget, town-wide, would raise taxes by 1.9 cents per $100 of assessed property valuation, which translates to an increase of $47 per year for the owner of a home assessed at the township’s average. The overall operating budget for the township is proposed to be $122,711,490.