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.
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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
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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.
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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
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