We’re Going to Govern Like it’s 1999

Please note! The links in this post are important reference materials in understanding the overall post. Please take the time to read them.

The February Home Town Clipper ran a brief article on the reduction of the city of DuPont’s Emergency Medical Service response. Citizens had grown accustom to the city providing medical transport via a city owned ambulance but the mayor ordered a reduction in service for 2010 citing, in part, “…response to failed tax measures and a drastic reduction in development.”

City Administrator Bill McDonald describes the new landscape and article assures the citizens “that the DuPont Fire Department is capable of responding to emergencies. All firefighters are Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and are trained to stabilize patients, but they cannot transport patients to the hospital.”

The entire article is reprinted below.

By Kim Roedl

Fire Chief Greg Hull was contacted and asked for comment but did not respond by press time.

What Mr. McDonald doesn’t say is that this model effectively turns back the clock to DuPont, 1999. A time when only the Historic Village shared the boundaries with the new Palisade Village; the remaining villages were nothing more than a gleam in the eye of the developers.

It was in 1999 that the plan for Emergency Medical Services started to come together. The city leaders of the time presented the growing community with an option of growth. So, in the November election a levy was offered as Proposition No.1: PROPOSITION ESTABLISHING AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES TAX LEVY.

Once passed, revenue raised for the next six years would be used to “obtain, operate, and maintain emergency medical aid vehicles as well as the facilities staffed by properly trained firefighter/emergency medical technicians. The city [would also need] to obtain the consumable medical supplies and medical appliances that equip the EMS vehicles and facilities.”

All that for $0.50 per $1000 assessed valuation. And so it was written and so it was done. A good thing too, because when you read the “statement for” the levy the point was made how this money would be used to improve Emergency Medical Service.

Among other things, [t]he fire department will also be able to purchase and equip and[sic] aid vehicle dedicated to EMS and provide the required medical training for professional staff and volunteers.

Back then, the fire department was mixed between professional firefighters and volunteers. During the day shift the pros (FF/EMT) would provide coverage. Off hours, weekends, and holidays would be staffed by trained volunteers.

The dual role of Firefighter and EMT, as noted above, is what we have now (all professional).

During the period between the implementation of the money from the levy in 2000 until the renewal brought before the voters in 2005, the fire department continued to experience growing pains, but hey, we had an ambulance that provided Basic Life Support.

Basic Life Support, or BLS; that is where things got tricky for the city of DuPont. That is what we have now, what we had in ‘99, and what we agreed to fund with the original EMS levy; and renewed in 2005. Somewhere along the way, the concept of Advanced Life Support (ALS) was promoted and that became the new gold standard.

The promotion of ALS began in earnest after the Fire Service Task Force and the original contract with Lakewood. Of course, Lakewood provided us with the Cadillac service and it was used as a marketing tool to promote a possible merger. At the time, we did not have the luxury to opt out of this gold plated service, but many within town did not know the differences between ALS and BLS, nor did they know we only had one (BLS) before the introduction of the other (ALS).

Even the Citygate report (paragraph two of excerpt) outlines how people perceive the advanced level of service to be the norm due to television dramas, but in reality small and rural communities often rely on the basic response. The poor communication and heavy handed management of the period post-Fire Service Task Force did not help matters. Some would argue that was intentionally so. I am not so sure.

What I find curious is the use of the money from the ‘99 and ‘05 EMS Levies. The language implies that this money would be segregated to specifically improve EMS service. Here is an excerpt from the ballot language:

“To maintain the current level of service and to better provide emergency services, the City needs to operate and maintain emergency medical aid vehicles as well as the facilities staffed by trained firefighters/emergency medical technicians.”

In this case, since it was the renewal statement, the current level of service as of 2005, when we had an ambulance. This measure was approved and remained in place though it was generally known shortly thereafter that the budget could not sustain it. A little more than two years after this measure was approved the whole fire department funding would come to a head.

The question needs to be asked that if we have a specific tax to improve emergency medical service then where is this money going today, now that our level of service has reverted back to 1999 levels?

Are we still collecting this tax even though we removed our ambulance and transport capabilities? That was rhetorical but I will answer it anyway: Damn right they are still collecting this money. In fact, here is a copy of the unanimously passed ordiance setting the tax rate from the November 24, 2009 council meeting.

Read on and you find that this collection amounts to 9.4% of the total of the general fund budget.

But what is it paying for? We know it isn’t funding an ambulance with dedicated EMT service. We also know that we have a fire rig show up to stabilize you until a private ambulance to haul you to the hospital., but aren’t those dual role firemen’s salaries paid for through the general fund? They have to be there to fight fires anyway. So, again, what is this money paying for? Is it the first aid and response kits on the rigs? Is a portion used for the maintenance on these trucks since they are used for medical calls? Is a portion of the firemen’s salaries paid from this levy while the rest is consumed from the general property tax.

Does it even matter?

I think it matters to a point since the language on the ballot states that if approved then the end result is better service. Evidently, the reality is that this money just effectively gets thrown into the general fund kitty to be used for propping the whole thing up. I suppose the City feels that this is the bubble gum and baling wire needed to maintain service….any service.

To add perspective on when we might expect the level of service that the City desires is a statement from the last televised council meeting is this video. The speaker is Craig Koeppler, a developer from Seattle that represents the tract of land formerly known as Intel West 90. Mr. Koeppler also was a member of the fire service task force. His message is clear:

The residential development is not enough of a base to support the services the City desires.

It does beg an interesting question: If we knew that 75% of our calls were for medical issues then why didn’t the City seek to increase the levy rate on EMS rather than the general fund? It seems to me that they could have made a compelling case to raise this rate to $1 per 1000 and it would have passed handily.

The problem is that would have meant we kept the department autonomous and since Lakewood had ALS, well, why not go along with them for the ride?

It is uncertain where we go with this EMS Levy and even if it will be up for renewal, though it expires soon. What we do know is there is truth to the axiom:

The more things change, the more they stay the same.