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The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday voted down guidelines on how to implement a proposed ambulance fee, scuttling debate for now on the contentious issue.

The council also delayed action until the end of the year on rules governing speed humps in the county.

In a 5-3 vote, council members rejected a set of regulations submitted by County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) detailing how an ambulance fee would have been handled had the council approved the fee.

Four council members, led by George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park, tried unsuccessfully to defer a vote on the regulations until the end of the year, but were defeated by a majority of council members who have opposed a fee for almost two years. (Councilwoman Nancy M. Floreen [D-At large] of Garrett Park abstained from the vote.)

Had the council taken no action Tuesday, the regulations automatically would have become law, even though the bill approving a fee has not passed.

For the county's 19 volunteer fire companies, Tuesday's vote was another blow to an "unnecessary" fee, they said. They have opposed a fee for fear that it could cause some residents to hesitate before calling an ambulance.

But county fire officials say the rejection will not stop them from trying to persuade enough council members to change their minds on the issue.

"We're grossly underfunded to adequately serve the needs of an expanding county," said Assistant Chief Scott Graham, who has headed the department's efforts in support of a fee. "This [ambulance fee] is the best way to pay for the department's needs without having to raise taxes."

Leggett proposed the fee as part of his fiscal 2009 recommended budget as a way to pay for fire and rescue department needs. Like most other jurisdictions in the region, the county would collect a fee of between $300 and $800 to transport patients in ambulances, bringing in an estimated $14 million to $17 million annually to the county.

Leggett and other county officials have maintained that the fee would be paid by insurance companies, and not county residents, including those with no insurance, who could receive a waiver.

But for a second straight year, the council tabled the fee and did not include it as part of the budget that begins today.

"I don't think that insurance companies would eat the cost [of the fee]," said council President Philip M. Andrews (D-Dist. 3) of Gaithersburg. "They're not charities. It's a false argument that insurance companies would pay for this."

The bill to establish the fee expires in December.

In other action Tuesday, the council delayed action until the end of the year on rules that govern the use of speed humps.

Leggett proposed loosening the parameters under which a street would qualify for speed humps by lowering the traffic threshold and reducing the number of neighbors needed to approve the humps. The rules are required as part of the road code that the council approved last year. The county has had a speed hump program for 15 years.

But the proposed rules have led to debate among neighborhoods and within the council.

Andrews has argued for speed cameras instead of more speed humps. He is planning a countywide public hearing in the fall to address the broader issue of speeding in the county.

To fund the county's recently expanded speed camera program, the council Tuesday approved $1.9 million toward administrative costs.

Currently, Montgomery County is the only jurisdiction in the state to approve a speed camera program, but legislation passed during the last General Assembly session allows for the cameras statewide.

Montgomery operates 60 fixed and six movable cameras throughout the county. Drivers going 10 miles over the speed limit receive $40 tickets, but no points on their driver's licenses. The speed limit threshold will increase to 12 miles in October to conform to state law.