Wall EMS Service May Shift To Monmouth County Under Proposal

WALL, NJ — Wall Township's paid EMS service could be shifted to the Monmouth County Sheriff's Department under a proposal set to go before the Township Committee on Tuesday night.

A resolution on the agenda for Tuesday's meeting is for a shared services agreement with Monmouth County to provide emergency medical services in Wall.

John Tobia, the township administrator, said there will be a presentation on the proposal during Tuesday's meeting, which begins at 7 p.m.

An email sent last week to Monmouth County EMS personnel by Timothy Sidley, director of the county's EMS services, indicated the plan had been approved.

"On January 1st, 2026, the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office will be assuming primary EMS responsibilities for Wall Township," according to the email, a copy of which was shared with Patch. "In the interim, we will be providing all mutual aid into Wall during the transition period."

"I am working on ensuring we have adequate building space and accommodations prior to January first," Sidley wrote. "The goal is that Wall Township serves as a new reporting location (station). Your supervisors will disseminate more information as I release it to them."

"I would ask you all to welcome to the team any Wall EMS members that we decide to hire and ensure that they understand all of the benefits of joining our agency," Sidley wrote.

"It is not a done deal until Township Committee approves it," Tobia said in response to questions about the email. "They have to vote on it."

Tobia said the presentation will include discussion of how Wall got to the point of discussing the idea of moving the EMS services to the county, and said approval hinges on whether the township committee members feel the move satisfies several issues.

Those include making sure Wall's paid EMS personnel have opportunities to get hired by the county and that the county EMS will provide "the same service as or better than" what has existed in Wall.

Wall Township employs seven EMTs and several part-time EMTs, Tobia said.

"The county already has numerous shared services agreements for EMS," he said, and in looking into the matter Tobia said township officials received positive feedback from other towns that have an agreement in place.

The other consideration is whether the agreement would save the township money, and Tobia indicated there should be a substantial savings to the taxpayers in moving the EMS services to the county, because they already pay for it in their county taxes.

He said the anticipated savings figures were being finalized for Tuesday's meeting.

The township's volunteer squads would continue to operate as they have, Tobia said.

Those who receive EMS services would see the same situation as exists in Wall now, as the county uses the same billing company and has the same policy of only accepting what health insurance pays for the service, and not billing the patient for the balance.

Tobia also said that if the Township Committee approves the agreement, Monmouth County officials have agreed to buy the ambulances Wall has for the existing EMS service.

The meeting can be watched live on the Wall Township YouTube channel.