Item B: Ambulance Fund Stabilization

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ATTACHMENT 1 The Eugene Fire & EMS Department has taken many steps to try to keep the ambulance service self-sustaining including increasing the transport rates; reducing ambulance coverage during non-peak times; and cutting costs for administrative staff, materials, and supplies. The department has also worked closely with City Finance staff to identify the appropriate cost split between the Ambulance Transport Fund (ATF) and General Fund (GF) to ensure the ATF is not supplementing General Fund services as well as to identify needed GF support on a one-time basis to balance the ATF in 2010 and 2011. In addition, Eugene’s ambulance system capacity is very thin. With inadequate revenues to increase the number of advanced life support ambulances on the street, the department elected to privatize select non-emergency calls for service, which matches a more appropriate level of resource with particular call types to a private provider as a cost avoidance strategy. Springfield Fire & Life Safety staff has focused on maximizing existing revenue sources for all three providers through the joint FireMed program by increasing the membership fee and by increasing participation in the JobCare program. In FY12, the FireMed program managers focused on decreasing administration and advertising costs of the program. However, it has been noted that even with the recent adjustments go the program, FireMed, in itself, will not garner enough revenues to balance the Ambulance Transport Funds. Springfield Fire & Life Safety has taken several steps toward keeping the ambulance transport system self-sustaining including increasing transport rates and reducing costs for administration. Springfield Fire & Life Safety also contracts with a private provider for inter-facility, non- emergency transports. In FY11, the Ambulance Transport Fund accumulated reserves totaling $251,605. These reserves are forecasted to be depleted by the end of FY13. The Lane Rural Fire/Rescue District was granted an Ambulance Service Area (ASA) encompassing the northwest portion of Eugene’s ASA in 2001 and in 2002 began providing emergency medical transport in addition to fire and rescue services to that area, resulting in a reduction of ambulance transport revenue as well as FireMed membership revenue for Eugene. As a pre-existing taxing authority, Lane Rural has been able to augment its overall revenue with ambulance fees and FireMed revenue, but not to the extent that the ambulance service is fully self-supported; instead, the district annually levies funds as necessary to provide all of its services, in effect providing some support to the ambulance service with general tax monies. Currently, this requirement is estimated to be at least $400,000 annually. None of these adjustments individually or in whole has created a sustainable revenue source during any 6-year financial forecast period. All three Ambulance Transport Funds continue to see annual deficits and depleting reserves. Another unobtainable goal is to maintain a reserve equal to two months’ operating expenditures. As projected in the current 6-year financial forecasts, no jurisdiction will meet this goal. Additionally, all three jurisdictions have relied on contributions from their general funds to balance in recent fiscal years. In 2009, the initial Joint Elected Officials Ambulance Transport Task Force was formed because a solution to this crisis was determined beyond the capacity and authority of any one provider agency acting unilaterally. After studying this issues and the range of available options, having May 24, 2012 Page 4 of 7