At Tuesday's Highland Village City Council meeting members approved the first reading of an ordinance that will increase ambulance service fees. The current fees have been in effect since 2010. The city periodically reviews emergency medical services fees billed to patients requiring medical treatment/ transport by city EMS apparatus. The service fees are a partial cost recovery, and fees generally are determined in conjunction with prevailing market rates. The city outsources the EMS billing service to a company, Emergicon, that specializes in this type of billing. Revenue totals roughly $200,000 per year. EMS charges are first billed to insurance, with the balance not paid by insurance to be collected from the patient. Most of the patient balances go unpaid, according to city staff. Council has previously expressed desire to not pursue third-party collection of these balances. Some of the proposed fees are as follows (equivalent to town of Flower Mound fees): a)  A fee of $750 for residents and $850 for nonresidents shall be charged per trip, per person for basic life-support treatment and transportation by emergency ambulance to a full-service hospital facility. The current fee is $562 for residents and $700 for nonresidents. b)  A fee of $850 for residents and $950 for nonresidents shall be charged per trip, per person for advanced life-support treatment and transportation by emergency ambulance to a full-service hospital facility. The current fee is $562 for residents and $700 for nonresidents. The second and final read of the ordinance will be held at the next council meeting. For a full list of the proposed fees visit www.highlandvillage.org.