Last week, the Santa Barbara County supervisors went behind closed doors to have a sober talk with themselves about their chances in the lawsuit brought against them by AMR, the private emergency response and ambulance company that’s held a monopoly in Santa Barbara for 41 years.
Although nothing would be reported out that day — or since — the supervisors’ choices hovered between the grim and grimmer. If they fought it out in the courtroom, they’d been told, they’d get clobbered. Given that the supervisors yanked a 10-year contract said to be worth $1 billion from AMR to give it to the county’s own fire department instead, the price of defeat would be punishingly prohibitive.
Accordingly, the supervisors are reportedly contemplating a settlement that would give AMR a three-year contract extension.