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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/05/2008 04A Draft Minutes 06-24-2008 Special Meeting / Study Session. SPECIAL MEETING / STUDY SESSION JUNE 24, 2008 8:00 — 9:30 A.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS — YAKIMA CITY HALL 1. Roll Call Present: Council: Assistant Mayor Micah Cawley presiding, Council Members Kathy Coffey, Rick Ensey, Norm Johnson, and Bill Lover Staff: City Manager Zais and City Clerk Moore Absent: Mayor Edler and Council Member McClure (excused) 2. Emergency Medical Service Levy Fire Chief, Charlie Hines, opened his presentation by saying, "Today you have the opportunity to save people's lives." He came to Yakima from California with over thirty years of service in fire fighting; thirteen years as a paramedic. One of the first things he noticed was how understaffed we were in our inability to deliver medical care in anything but a basic fashion. He brought that to the Council Public Safety Committee's attention and is now bringing it forward to Council. He gave a Power Point presentation. on, how we can improve, particularly in staffing and delivery of ismedical care. Major points in the presentation were:. ➢ Challenges • Demand for service is outpacing budget resources • Response times are getting longer • III prepared to handle even relatively minor emergencies, much less, major disasters • Inability to administer medical care beyond a basic level ➢ Goals • Hire additional professional firefighters and communications personnel to meet critical staffing needs • Implement five paramedic engine companies by certifying 18 cross - trained, dual -role firefighter /paramedics Result: A vast improvement in delivery of emergency medical care to citizens ➢ Options • Pass an "ongoing" City EMS levy; an on -going levy sustains needs for the future • Pass a "limited term" City EMS levy • Do nothing STUDY SESSION — EMS LEVY PROPOSAL JUNE 24, 2008 The presentation reviewed various statistics such as firefighters per population, • budget information, volunteer responses into Yakima, and fire statistics, comparing Yakima to other locales. The bottom line was, we are unable to keep up with the current demand for service. Chief Hines then described the positive results of increasing firefighter staffing: faster response times, more efficient and versatile workforce, decrease in insurance premiums. He described the positive impacts of placing firefighter paramedics on an engine company; getting a paramedic to the patient faster, performing critical procedures simultaneously and more quickly with a team of two paramedics, and the ability to conduct triage and treat multiple patient incidents more effectively. The presentation addressed naysayer comments such as "if it's not broke don't fix it" and "one paramedic is enough." The idea of two paramedics is modeled after the type of care given in the emergency room where they have a team of people. A critical patient requires a series of functions and one human being cannot accomplish all of them. With two paramedics on scene, multiple advanced skills can be provided simultaneously. Chief Hines reviewed the following facts: • Ambulance companies are not dedicated solely to the City of Yakima. They cover the entire county. They also do inter - facility transfers that can take them out of the area. • With the proposed model being presented, ambulance companies will not • lose any revenue. They will continue to transport every patient. Our goal is to form a public /private partnership that improves the quality of patient care. ➢ The investment An increase of $0.25 on a $200,000 home would be $4.16 a month and will result in an additional paramedic on every call. The levy has the support of the Yakima Fire Department Firefighter Union, Local 469, who are willing to put time and money into marketing it. The Yakima County Medical Program Director is on board as is Memorial Hospital's Emergency Room physicians and AMR Ambulance company. This proposal addresses three of the Council's strategic priorities. Timing is extremely critical because of many other items that will be coming before the voters for funding in the near future. The proposal is to place it on the November ballot because there are no competing levies. They are ready to start marketing. Although there is a lot of confusion and controversy on health care today, there remains one organization that Americans turn to in times of crisis that they believe can be trusted . above all others, and that is the fire department. Chief Hines asked Council to allow them to bring this to the citizens in November letting the citizens decide if they are willing to support it. r� 2 STUDY SESSION — EMS LEVY PROPOSAL JUNE 24, 2008 Council Questions • How do you campaign? (Council Member Coffey) We have to go out and market it with signs, commercials, etc. That takes money and staffing. We have 88 firefighters that are willing to do that while off duty. They are also donating funds for the cause. City Manager Zais clarified that the City can provide facts /information and the Council can make a decision as to whether it's the right thing to do at this time; but it's a private /non - profit entity that would have to be formed to do the promoting. . • Current levy expires in 2012, would a new levy supersede that cut -off date? (Council Member Johnson) If the citizens pass a City -EMS levy, it terminates simultaneously with the existing County levy at 2012. At that time, we would have to present to the public again for another vote. It was clarified that if the levy were approved in November, the collection would begin in the next tax cycle. • Why $0.50 rather than something less like other areas? (Council Member Lover) Chief Hines explained that west of the Cascades they not only have EMS levies but also fire levies, as does Spokane. We only have an EMS levy. By doubling from $0.25 to $0.50, we anticipate having enough resources for about 14 firefighters plus a communications person. ® What was the reference of a possibility of an ambulance strike? (Council Member Johnson) AMR is represented by the Teamsters. Nationwide they have different contracts. The one that affected Washington was coming up for a vote this spring. We received a courtesy call from the Teamsters of the possibility of a strike that could affect the . service in Yakima. Fortunately it did not. • Only one hospital was referenced as supporting; why not the other? (Council Member Johnson) Chief Hines clarified that the other is not referenced only because he has not been able to get in touch with the Regional Hospital ER doctors. They are still trying to do that. The hospitals contract with different groups to cover their emergency room and it is difficult to find the correct contact people. • Isn't notification a bigger factor than response time? (Asked by Council Member Lover) Yes, part of the time span is how soon it is called in. One of the tools being used now to educate the public is the Fire Department's quarterly newsletter. The next issue will talk about how to help the 911 call taker help you. • Why can't we work with the County better on this rather than going to a City EMS levy? (Council Member Lover) Chief Hines said he would like the county -wide EMS levy raised to $0.50 but there is no support for it. Support has to come from the fire chiefs and the fire departments that would have to market it. But, they don't need the money because they are volunteer and have a low overhead. If we forced it on them for a county -wide vote, it 3 STUDY SESSION — EMS LEVY PROPOSAL JUNE 24, 2008 would fail because we wouldn't get their support to market it. City Manager Zais • pointed out that in the current distribution formula, we don't get 100% of the dollars generated inside the city. The reason we could increase the number of firefighters is because the City would receive 100% of that additional $0.25. Currently, the County takes 11.5% from everyone and there is nothing to prevent them from increasing that percentage every year. Last year they increased it by 1 %, and could do it again next year. • What is the impact of this on private enterprise? (council Member Johnson) We have looked into building a public /private partnership. The most economical way to improve our emergency pre - hospital care system is to have an ambulance paramedic and firefighter paramedic working together as a team. That model has been working in thousands of communities throughout the nation for over 30 years. The ambulance company will still transport every patient. That is how they make their money and we are not proposing getting into the ambulance transportation business. • What type of a guarantee in an election like this is there that it would not interfere with private enterprise? (Council Member Johnson) Council Member Johnson stated his concern is that we can't obligate future Councils. Chief Hines said the ambulance companies believe that we don't want to get into the transport business today, but are concerned about tomorrow or five years from now. City Manager Zais commented that one thing that could possibly be done is, in the preamble to the ballot proposition itself, add a declaration of intent. This would require passing an ordinance declaring Council's intent to clarify the ballot for the voters. It could express that this money is dedicated for this purpose and not for the purpose of transporting any patients. We can verify the possibility of doing that with the Legal Department. The City Council Public Safety Committee has had discussion on this issue. Because of the significance of it being a tax issue, they wanted it brought forward to the full Council. Today's discussion is not for a decision but to open the door to look for stakeholders. If we were to put this on the November ballot, we would have to submit it to the County Elections Office by August 12tH Council Member Ensey expressed concern about the short timeframe. He feels we should have started marketing it sooner. He also was concerned about trying to market for the maximum amount of $0.50 rather than something smaller yet still effective. Chief Hines responded that they have been meeting and strategizing for awhile and there is a marketing plan in place. With regard to the amount of the levy, his research found that people were more concerned with how long it lasted rather than how much. It empowers citizens if they can determine renewal options. • What plans does the Fire Department have to help train the community for disasters? (Council Member Ensey) Chief Hines spoke about a program they had in California called CERT, Community Emergency Response Teams, where they trained people how to take care of themselves for the first 72 hours. He would love to do that here but doesn't have the resources. It is a series of community classes and requires equipment. 4 STUDY SESSION — EMS LEVY PROPOSAL JUNE 24, 2008 • Do we need to be concerned about annexations and would the levy sustain the cost of those over time? (Council Member Cawley). City Manager Zais commented that he could not say that the levy sustains firefighters' salaries and benefits. There are other resources that would have to be considered in the future as revenue streams grow. The levies, while set, are still limited by the tax limit. Chief Hines said there is a fudge factor built in to cover various increases such as wages and equipment. • How would the additional firefighters be placed? (Council Member Lover). They are looking at implementing additional engine companies to take the call load. Paramedic school takes a year; therefore we probably wouldn't see five paramedic engines for a couple years. • Can the levy money be used other than for what is being requested? (Council Member Johnson) The money can be used for anything associated with emergency medical care; not just staffing, but purchasing equipment. Council members expressed the desire to have public input on the decision on whether to put it on the ballot.. They also suggested discussing it again in the Public Safety Committee prior to it coming before Council in a public hearing. 3. Audience comments Woody Woodcock, president of Advance Life Systems, said he hasn't had enough time to investigate the proposal. He isn't sure that what California does is what • Yakima needs, but agrees we need to make improvements. Although adding medics to the field may be the way to go, he's not sure it is the best way to do it. One idea he had would be to set up a paramedic response car in his company so they could be the ones to add a paramedic. He would like to explore other avenues before the City ventures off into a new department program. It was the consensus of Council to set a public hearing at the next Council meeting. 4. Adjournment JOHNSON MOVED AND COFFEY SECONDED TO ADJOURN. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote; Edler and McClure absent. The meeting adjourned at 9:38 a.m. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY ATTEST: CITY CLERK COUNCIL MEMBER DATE COUNCIL MEMBER DATE DAVID EDLER, MAYOR Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. A CD and DVD of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office 5