American Medical Response will continue to provide ambulance service to Santa Barbara County for the next three years while the county seeks proposals for providing improved services at lower costs.

The decision by the Board of Supervisors to request proposals rejected the staff’s recommendation to negotiate another 15-year contract with AMR, but it authorized staff to negotiate a three-year extension of the current contract to give the county time to complete the RFP process.

Supervisors pointed out the unanimous decision was not made because the county is receiving substandard service.

In fact, an analysis of the county’s emergency medical services found it to be above average.

“I can tell you that our system excels,” said Dr. Angelo Salvucci, medical director for emergency medical services, attributing that to the county’s long-term relationship with AMR. “We have systems of care that are envied by most. … Our clinical systems are excellent.”

AMR has provided emergency services to the county since about 1980 through contract renegotiations, which are legally allowed without a competitive bidding process.

But the analysis offered 23 initiatives to improve services and reduce costs, all of which could be implemented through AMR without a competitive bid process.

Weighing benefits and risks, as well as the extended time and cost involved in requesting proposals, the Local Emergency Medical Services Agency recommended the board approve a renegotiation with AMR.

However, supervisors saw that as a problem, even though they were not dissatisfied with AMR.