Switching Tulsa's ambulance service from EMSA to a Tulsa Fire Department-based service would cost Tulsa city government nearly $3 million more per year, according to an analysis performed in late 2006 by a task force that included city staff, members of the medical community, and representatives from both EMSA and TFD. EMSA CEO Steve Williamson cited the study in a January 14, 2010, memo to the Tulsa City Council, following up on a January 12, 2010, Council committee meeting. According to Williamson, $2.96 million is likely a bare minimum additional cost:

It is important to note these figures assume TFD would realize the same collection rate as EMSA does, despite the fact that the group was unable to find a single city using fire-based EMS that had collection rates matching EMSA’s. In other words, it is quite likely that Tulsa’s price tag, as a result of reduced collections, would have been much more than an extra $2.96 million. The financial burden of a fire-based ambulance service, coupled with the serious concerns about clinical care voiced by the medical community, made switching to a TFD-operated ambulance service undesirable. 

Tulsa's "community cost per response" is $66.43. That reflects the fees paid by residents of Tulsa and surrounding communities, divided by the number of EMSA responses. Oklahoma City's cost per response is $73.29. (OKC is also served by EMSA.) By comparison, the Dallas Fire Department's EMS service is subsidized by the community at the rate of $211.96 per response. While Tulsa collected $19.7 million for $20.9 million in costs. Dallas collected only $19.2 million for $32.2 million in costs.