MERIDIAN, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – The Meridian City Council voted 3–2 Tuesday night to separate from Metro Ambulance Service and move forward with creating a city-run Emergency Medical Services district, a move city leaders say is intended to improve oversight and ambulance service within the city.
In a separate 3–2 vote, the council also approved entering into an agreement with Pafford Emergency Services to provide ambulance service for Meridian once the new EMS district is established.
Concerns about Metro Ambulance Service have been discussed publicly for months. During Tuesday’s meeting, city leaders said Metro has experienced slow response times and has at times operated with two to three ambulance units out of service, affecting coverage across Meridian.
Mayor Percy Bland told the council the change is aimed at improving public safety. City leaders also said creating a municipal EMS district would give Meridian more direct oversight of ambulance operations, including performance expectations and accountability.
Speaking Wednesday, Meridian Chief Administrative Officer Craig Hitt said the proposal followed months of discussions between city leadership and Lauderdale County officials.
“The Mayor’s office and leadership asked the City Council to consider this change,” Hitt said. “We have been discussing this for 9 or 10 months now. We’ve had one-on-one meetings with county officials with our concerns. We came to the decision last month that it was time to move forward.”
Hitt said the city revisited conversations with ambulance providers and ultimately determined Pafford EMS was the best fit.
“So, we had follow up conversations with companies that we had talked to before along with the county on potential service for the entire county, and decided that we would make this recommendation at last night’s council meeting to create our own EMS district, which is now available to municipalities within the state of Mississippi, and also to contract with Pafford to be the service provider once the EMS district is in place,” Hitt said.
“It will also provide services for nursing homes, hospitals, any business that would need transportation of their patients or citizens,” Hitt said.
The City of Meridian does not currently have a contract with Metro Ambulance Service. Metro provides ambulance service for the Lauderdale County EMS district. Hitt said that until recently, Mississippi law did not allow municipalities to establish their own EMS districts.
No expected financial impact
Hitt said city officials do not anticipate any additional cost to Meridian residents because of the change.
“There should be no financial difference,” Hitt said. “Pafford is very confident— We’re not paying them anything in their contract, the City of Meridian— They’re confident in their services and the payments they receive for those services through the individuals insurance, whatever that situation will be, will cover their cost for operations.”
The city is targeting Sept. 1, 2026, for the new service to begin.
“We are hoping that we will have everything in place, contracts and the district in place, where they can start September 1st, 2026,” Hitt said.
The proposed contract with Pafford would run from Sept. 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, with an option to renew.
Pafford looking for Meridian location
Hitt said Pafford has already begun searching for property within Meridian to house its local operations.
“We know that they are looking at some properties within the city,” Hitt said. “We have made available restroom facilities at our fire departments, but we have made them aware that we don’t have living space or enough space at any of our fire departments for them to utilize on a regular basis, but I learned this morning that they have already looked at some properties and are talking to local property owners about possibly leasing some space.”
He said Pafford’s experience operating throughout Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana also factored into the city’s decision.
“Pafford is a company that services a number of counties and cities within Mississippi as well as Arkansas and Louisiana. They have a lot of personnel and equipment to pull from,” Hitt said.
“We talked with other companies, we just felt like they were the best fit for us at this point in time to provide the service that our hospitals need, our nursing homes need, and our citizens need,” he added.
“We’re excited. We’re sorry that we weren’t able to work things out with Metro and Lauderdale County, but we just feel like this is the best option for us at this point,” Hitt said.
County says residents outside Meridian unaffected
Following Tuesday’s vote, Lauderdale County issued a statement saying residents living outside Meridian’s city limits will not be affected by the change.
According to the county, the new EMS district applies only to residents within Meridian. Ambulance service inside the city will transition from Metro Ambulance to Pafford EMS, while Metro Ambulance will continue serving residents in unincorporated Lauderdale County.
Metro Ambulance Executive Director Kevin Smith said the agency will continue serving county residents.
“We will continue to operate as we’ve operated and take care of everybody in Lauderdale County,” Smith said.
Pafford Emergency Services released this press release to the media Wednesday:
Pafford EMS Awarded Exclusive Emergency Medical Services Contract for Meridian, Mississippi
MERIDIAN, MS – July 22, 2026 – Pafford EMS has been awarded the exclusive contract to provide emergency medical services to the City of Meridian, Mississippi in a newly formed EMS district.
The agreement places Pafford as the sole EMS provider for approximately 35,000 residents, along with the visitors, clinics, hospitals, and long-term care facilities that depend on ambulance transportation every day. The work to stand up this operation is already underway, with Pafford moving to bring the new service online by September 1, 2026.
Pafford’s commitment to Meridian, Mississippi is simple: a timely response, a professional and well-trained crew, well-equipped ambulances, and compassionate care at the moment it matters most.
“Meridian, Mississippi – a great city with amazing momentum – is trusting us with something that is non-negotiable – the safety of her people,” said Greg Pafford, Chief Executive Officer of Pafford EMS.
“Since founding this company in 1999, I have never taken that responsibility lightly. Our teams are already at work standing up this operation, and our promise to this community is the same promise we make everywhere we serve: high quality, compassionate healthcare, delivered by competent providers. This expands access to pre-hospital emergency care and increases the number of ambulances available to respond to emergencies and transfers – putting the citizens Meridian, Mississippi first. We look forward to building partnerships with all the public safety entities and taking great care of this small town with a big impact!”
Pafford EMS is now hiring to serve the Queen City and we welcome Meridian, Mississippi to the Pafford EMS family.