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longer term solutions included creating an ambulance service taxing district, redistributing overhead costs, reconfig- <br />uring ASA boundaries and developing an alternative service delivery model. He said the congressional delegation <br />had been asked to support a five percent increase in payments. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor asked if the cost of transport was actually $1,150. Chief Groves replied that the cost would be half of <br />that if everyone paid. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor commented that raising rates could increase insurance costs and make coverage less accessible to people. <br />She asked if the City would place a lien on the property of those who could not pay. Chief Giard said the City would <br />turn the account over to a collection agency. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor asked if transports could be done by taxi and if there was a fee if no transport occurred. Chief Groves <br />said that some types of calls could be handled by taxi and there was no charge if there was no transport on a call. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor asked if a private ambulance service was feasible. Chief Groves said he felt that the Fire Department <br />was in the best position to deliver essential emergency services and provide protection for the community, although a <br />private service might be suitable for inter-facility and non-emergency transports. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz said she was opposed to fully privatizing ambulance service. She asked if the Chief would recommend the <br />council pursue possible ASA reconfiguration with the County or if that conversation should begin with the Fire <br />Department. Chief Groves suggested that the department begin the conversation and said he had discussed the issue <br />with other fire chiefs in the County to determine the best approach. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz said she supported pursuing reconfiguration of the ASAs. <br /> <br />Ms. Ortiz, seconded by Mr. Pryor, moved to extend discussion of the agenda item by ten <br />minutes. The motion passed unanimously. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark emphasized that ambulance transport was a core City service. He said citizens should be assured that <br />when there was an emergency the most highly qualified personnel would respond. He would not support privatizing <br />the system, but would be interested in exploring privatizing as an option for non-emergency transport. He was <br />interested in how calls were triaged and how accurately calls were categorized over time. He asked if inter-facility <br />transport included a return trip for the patient. Chief Groves said that often a ride back was provided and those were <br />trips that might be triaged out of the system. <br /> <br />Mr. Clark said he would favor working with the County and other districts to reconfigure ASAs. Chief Groves noted <br />that the department would still be bound by State law to continue mutual aid agreements with other ASAs. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka said he was also opposed to privatization. He asked when the current transport rate of $900 was <br />established and when Springfield raised its rate. Chief Groves said the current rate had been in place for two years <br />and Springfield's increase went into effect in November 2007. <br /> <br />Mr. Zelenka favored increasing the rate. He asked for clarification of the taxing district option. Chief Groves said a <br />taxing district would be part of property taxes to subsidize the service and would be identified as a separate line item <br />on tax statements. In response to a follow-up question, he said there was no General Fund subsidy of the service. <br /> <br />Ms. Piercy suggested a future work session on the topic. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Eugene City Council February 13, 2008 Page 2 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br />