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ATTACHMENT 1 <br />engaged the public at a series of community forums and online, and having worked in concert <br />with stakeholders including local fire and ambulance service professionals, hospitals, and <br />firefighters’ unions, the taskforce recommended the following: <br />1.That all three jurisdictions remain prepared to allocate a level of General Fund <br />support as necessary for the continued high-quality provision of this core service. <br />2.That the Eugene and Springfield City Councils authorize initial steps toward merger <br />of their fire departments. <br />3.That exploration begin immediately of more sustainable public funding options. <br />4.That marketing of FireMed subscriptions be enhanced and expanded in an effort to <br />generate additional revenues to lessen reliance on general fund tax support. <br />5.That the City of Eugene and Lane Rural Fire/Rescue analyze the possibility of <br />reconfiguring the boundaries of the county’s Ambulance Service Areas so as to <br />provide for an urban-rural split between Eugene and Lane Rural Fire/Rescue; and, if <br />conditions appear favorable, that the Lane County Board of Commissioners be asked <br />to enact such reconfiguration. <br />6.That work proceed as rapidly as possible regarding provision of a regional mobile <br />health care system, featuring tiered levels of response (and cost) available to patients <br />depending on the nature of the emergency with a report to elected officials by the end <br />of calendar year 2010. <br />7.That public ambulance service provider agencies continue to lobby the Oregon <br />legislature and U.S. Congress for larger-scale, long-term solutions. <br />Several of these recommendations have been implemented including continued General Fund <br />support as needed per jurisdiction to keep programs viable. All three providers recognize General <br />Fund support is considered one-time and, at this time, is not a sustainable solution. The merger <br />initiative continues to make positive steps toward a fire district, which could ultimately provide <br />needed funding for ambulance transport. However, it is projected that forming a district is a <br />long-term goal and will not address the immediate funding need of the ambulance transport <br />service. As previously stated, increased revenues for the enhanced FireMed program have been <br />determined that the program cannot in itself, garner enough funding to stabilize the system. The <br />City of Eugene has moved forward with recommendation #5 by contracting with Lane Rural <br />Fire/Rescue District to provide rural ambulance transport services west of the urban growth <br />boundary. This agreement has resulted in decreased response times for the constituents being <br />served. This recommendation has had minimal impact on the Eugene workload issue but does <br />not address the financial stability of either ambulance transport system. Finally, regional <br />providers continue to actively work with the United Front at the State and Federal levels for <br />developing larger-scale, long-term solutions. <br />CONCLUSION <br />With the political will already expressed to continue emergency medical transport as a core <br />public service, and with the existing revenue streams no longer adequate, there is little question <br />that additional tax support will be required. The only questions are as to the form and magnitude <br />of that additional tax support. <br /> May 24, 2012 <br />Page 5 of 7 <br />