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Mayor Piercy asked for a definition of the legal meaning of core services. Before changing the ASA, she <br />wanted to be sure what happened in any “give and get” negotiation. The current system seemed to be <br />working well and should not be compromised. She asked if that system would be compromised in a quest <br />to deal with financial issues. She would be concerned about sharing jurisdictional oversight with an <br />ambulance district and supported the proposed LCOG study. She asked if the public was well enough <br />educated about ways to get information about the state of their health other than going to the ambulance <br />service and emergency room. <br /> <br />Chief Groves did not know if there was a legal determination for core services. Core or essential services <br />consisted of anything provided for the health and welfare of the community. <br /> <br />Chief Murphy said CAHOOTS was an example of an alternative delivery that was working. He thought <br />there was a place for CAHOOTS in Springfield as a smart alternative service provider. <br /> <br />Councilor Poling shared the following observations: <br /> <br />? <br /> He hoped any discussion at the City of Eugene would be about decreasing rather than increasing <br />response times. Monetary gain from increasing the response time did not come anywhere near the <br />cost of a life. <br />? <br /> Since starting his law enforcement career in 1972, he had seen great improvements in emergency <br />medical care. He thanked Fire and EMS personnel and ER staff for their efforts on behalf of the <br />community. The community had one of the finest EMS systems around. <br />? <br /> He appreciated the efforts of Fire administration and union members for working together to <br />develop a solution on the problem rather than being at loggerheads as in the past. <br />? <br /> He thanked the City of Springfield for handling 850 calls annually outside of its ASA, the majority <br />of which were likely in the City of Eugene. <br />? <br /> He agreed with Commissioner Stewart’s suggestion of expanding EMS throughout the county. <br />? <br /> He asked if any of the three chiefs saw tonight’s conversation growing into a conversation to <br />expand into all Fire and EMS services. <br /> <br />Chief Groves said the chiefs had had those discussions and were looking for common points for Eugene and <br />Springfield to come together, including training and the Fire Marshal, to gain efficiencies and improve <br />services, especially during times of tight finances. <br /> <br />Chief Murphy suggested options could be offered to the city councils that would not lead to service <br />reductions or increased fees. <br /> <br />Commissioner Fleenor was for saving lives with available resources but regardless of resources people <br />died. There were a limited amount of resources in Lane County and they were becoming less every day in <br />the current economy. It could be three or four years before improvement is seen. Trying to form a <br />countywide district was “pie in the sky” and it was not reasonable to think the jurisdictions could provide a <br />response time that was appropriate in the rural communities. The issue needed to be looked at from a view <br />of what was reasonable today and not next year. He felt everyone needed to live within available resources. <br />The current fiscal environment was not suitable to talk about expansion. <br /> <br />Councilor Ortiz sought an explanation of the contract for non-emergency transport and for the practice of <br />advising people at the scene what the cost of transport would be. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Joint Elected Officials— January 27, 2009 Page 11 <br /> Lane Board of County Commissioners, Lane Rural Fire/Rescue Board of Directors and Eu- <br />gene and Springfield City Councils <br /> <br />