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<br />Councilor Ortiz asked if Lane Rural Fire/Rescue District had the capacity to infill the areas between the <br />UGB and designated service areas. <br /> <br />Chief Borland responded although the district did not currently have the staffing to provide the service it <br />could review the issue for future implementation. <br /> <br />Councilor Ortiz appreciated the comments from the IAFF representatives and supported continuing to <br />provide adequate EMS to the community. She agreed ambulance transport service was a core service. The <br />voters in Eugene expected a high quality of service and as an elected official she would do her best to <br />ensure it continued. <br /> <br />Commissioner Stewart appreciated this conversation. He said some of the small rural districts he <br />represented struggled with the same issues brought forward tonight. He asked if it was possible to look at <br />the issue as a Lane County issue rather than focusing on the three districts represented tonight. He asked if <br />a countywide ambulance district would be the answer for everyone’s problems. Based on the finance <br />information presented he thought a $1.28 per thousand assessed property value might be a viable figure to <br />provide ambulance service countywide for $32 million. He asserted ambulance service was a core service. <br />Increasing response times to balance the budget was not acceptable when every minute counted. Dimi- <br />nished service would impact life and death. <br /> <br />Chief Groves clarified that while the City of Eugene billed $12 million, only 44 percent was collected. He <br />acknowledged going countywide was worthy of consideration. The proposal was brought forward from <br />ASA 4, 5, and 8 as a means to start the conversation. <br /> <br />Chief Murphy thought the proposed LCOG study would reveal the cost would be less than $.75 per <br />thousand assessed property value. <br /> <br />Councilor Zelenka was intrigued by Commissioner Stewart’s proposal. He asked how the governance in <br />such a system would work. He asked what the implications of the ASAs were and if pulling them back to <br />the UGB, which he assumed would result in more ASAs, would be predominantly rural. He asked who <br />determined the level of service in each ASA. <br /> <br />Chief Groves said the governance structure would be researched and determined at a later date. Chief <br />Groves said the standards were developed by the BCC but the individual city councils established their own <br />targets for levels of service based on the BCC requirements. <br /> <br />Chief Murphy said Salem was surrounded by nine ambulance districts and did not provide the level of <br />service provided by Lane Rural Fire/Rescue. The Stayton BLS was all volunteer personnel. If the ASAs <br />were pulled back to the UGB, the Lane County system would resemble that of the Salem area. The level of <br />sophistication in Lane County was unmatched in the state. Many off-duty firefighters volunteered in the <br />rural districts and provided paramedic care in first response situations. The rural life support project was <br />founded in Lane County in 1983 and exported around the state and the country. It provided a talented <br />group of providers who offered care before arrival of ALS and had reinforced the existing system. The <br />high cost of providing ambulance service was left to those who had the financial means to pay for it, and <br /> <br /> <br />MINUTES—Joint Elected Officials— January 27, 2009 Page 10 <br /> Lane Board of County Commissioners, Lane Rural Fire/Rescue Board of Directors and Eu- <br />gene and Springfield City Councils <br /> <br />