Hundreds of Pinellas County EMTs and paramedics likely won’t be receiving the $1,000 bonus promised to Florida’s first responders by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
What You Need To Know
- More than 500 Pinellas first responders are not eligible for a $1,000 bonus from the state
- They work for a private company that contracted by the county
- Eligible first responders must be employees of the state or local governments
- Previous coverage: DeSantis Wants to Give $1,000 to Florida’s First Responders
In May, DeSantis announced that roughly $208 million had been allocated from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity for bonus checks for more than 174,000 first responders across the state. The breakdown included:
- 49,405 sworn law enforcement officers
- 40,732 EMTs
- 35,811 firefighters
- 33,185 paramedics in Florida.
John Peterson, Chief Operating Officer of Sunstar Paramedics, confirmed that his team of more than 500 would likely not receive the $1,000 bonus checks.
He cited Senate Bill 2500, that states qualifying first responders must be employed by a state or local government. While Sunstar is the only ambulance provider for 911 calls in Pinellas County, it operates through a public-private partnership and its paramedics are not county employees — making them ineligible for the bonus.
“Even though they’re doing the same job, they’re not going to recognized in the same way or in fact recognized at all,” Peterson said.
Peterson estimates there’s more than 2,000 additional paramedics statewide who work for private companies, that are contracted with a county, who also won’t receive the bonus.
Sunstar tells me at least 500 Pinellas County paramedics likely won't be getting the $1K bonus from @GovRonDeSantis meant for first responders. Pinellas County contracts with Sunstar, but because those are private employees, not county, it looks like they're left out @BN9 pic.twitter.com/UQXw8UOaFR
— Angie Angers (@angie_angers) May 18, 2021
The news was a source of frustration for a number of Sunstar paramedics who have worked long hours in tough conditions throughout the pandemic.
“It feels like a slight. It almost feels like an egregious act,” said paramedic Ken Deacon.
Deacon has worked as a paramedic for Sunstar for 14 years and says while he loves his job, he’s frustrated and hopes that DeSantis’ administration reconsiders.
“I hope they reevaluate their stipulations as to what qualifies and what does not qualify as an eligible candidate for this,” he said.
Spectrum Bay News 9 reached out to DeSantis’ administration for comment and we were given this response from Christina Pushaw, Press Secretary. "We are working on the implementation of this program ahead of the Governor’s final action on the General Appropriations Act and will have more information on program details -- including eligibility for bonuses -- in the coming weeks."