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Mr. Pap~ shared the concern expressed by others about Station 9. He wanted the Budget Committee to have <br />the option of seeing the station restaffed in the next fiscal year, and indicated his intent to offer a motion to <br />the body directing the manager to take action to that effect. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ determined from Chief Tallon that the department's working relationship with the Santa Clara Fire <br />Department was going well. Chief Tallon described how the mutual response relationship worked at the <br />current time. Mr. Pap~ asked if the City received money from the district for its assistance. Chief Tallon <br />said that each agency received $100 from the other agency when they responded to a call for assistance, or <br />$12,000 annually. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ wanted staff to present the council with a strategy for accomplishing each of the recommenda- <br />tions. Chief Tallon indicated that was the purpose of accreditation <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson said there were many kinds of emergency that the City provided, and that had implications <br />for the locations of stations, the types and locations of equipment, and those hired. Those factors had land <br />use implications as well. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson suggested that the council keep in mind that the City's emergency response was based on the <br />principle of helping people no matter where they lived in the community. It was in the entire community's <br />interest to make sure its emergency response coverage was adequate and excellent. <br /> <br />Speaking to the financial stability of the Emergency Medical Services Fund, Ms. Nathanson suggested <br />Eugene was a victim of decisions made by the federal government and Lane County. She said that some of <br />the changes Chief Tallon had to make were in response to decisions made by those governments. Ms. <br />Nathanson acknowledged that change was difficult for both the public and employees. She was happy to see <br />that the department was committed to an ongoing review and improvement of its operations. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor said that growth was not paying its costs as evidenced by the financial gap facing the depart- <br />ment. She also supported the restaffing of Station 9. She questioned whether the City had any priorities <br />that were higher than the engine company. She asked staff to consider that issue and give the council <br />suggestions. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor asked if the ~hard boundary" between Eugene and Springfield could be eliminated. Chief Tallon <br />said that there was no hard boundary. If there was a critical emergency, the closest unit responded. Chief <br />Tallon said that the department was attempting to manage an important and scarce resource for nonemer- <br />gency calls to ensure people receive appropriate service and the City can deploy its capacity most <br />effectively. He said that he would not stabilize the EMS Fund at the expense of the community's safety. <br />Ms. Taylor asked what happened if an ambulance from Springfield happened to be in Eugene and was the <br />nearest unit to an emergency. Chief Tallon said that the department was still analyzing that; not every call <br />was a life-threatening emergency, and Eugene's communications system allowed the dispatchers to triage <br />calls. <br /> <br /> Ms. Taylor, seconded by Ms. Bettman, moved to extend time for the item <br /> by ten minutes. The motion passed, 5:3; Mr. Meisner, Ms. Nathanson, and <br /> Ms. Solomon voting no. <br /> <br />MINUTES--Eugene City Council December 3, 2003 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />