To: Mayor Dave Edler
Councilmember Maureen Adkison
Councilmember Micah Cawley
Councilmember Kathy Coffey
Councilmember Rick Ensey
Councilmember Bill Lover
Councilmember Sonia Rodriguez
Subject: City of Yakima EMS Levy Results and Fire Fighter / Paramedics Proposal
Our March 24, 2009 letter from SOAR to the Yakima City Council asked several questions regarding !he EMS proposal. To date, the Council has not addressed or answered any of these questions. We also reminded the City Council of the EMS Levy vote results which were an overwhelming NO vote on this proposal. The idea of expanding the fire department services to include paramedics should be put to rest with another resounding NO vote. SOAR has continued consideration of this issue since it is still under consideration by the City Council and now has more questions including the following:
+ Where is the public support for this proposal?? Where is the citizens group or committee that would be advocating that paramedics be added to fire trucks? The only support for this idea is the fire chief and fire fighters union. Ask yourselves why the fire fighters union is pushing for paramedics on fire trucks?? Why does the firee department want to compete with private ambulance services?? Could the answer be to expand the fire fighters union and increase fire fighter salaries as paramedics while cloaking their proposal under the banner of public safety ??
+ Were the two existing fire fighters hired as firemen or as paramedics?? Do they receive additional compensation because of their advanced training which is not currently required for their jobs ??
+ The City and its citizens currently enjoy private ambulance services and a user pay system. That is, only persons needing EMS and transport services pay for these services. Why would we want to change to a publicly funded system ??
+ Our City currently has an EMS system that works. Unfortunately, our City government cannot afford to be everything to everybody. We have to use our limited resources in the most cost effective manner. Our current EMS with privately funded paramedics works and does not cost our taxpayers money unless they need and use the ambulance service. Why would we want to change ??
+ Why does the City Fire Department respond with large, expensive fire trucks to all 911 EMS calls?? It seems that huge fire trucks costing over $ 800,000 lumbering to an aid call is the absolute waste of a firefighting apparatus?? Why can’t the EMS dispatchers use discretion as to when large, expensive fire trucks are necessary ??
+ Is the City Fire Department responding to all 911 calls for EMS to simply increase their “call volume” to increase statistics and revenue from the Countywide EMS levy funds?? Can’t common sense and good judgement be used to determine when large, expensive fire trucks are sent on EMS calls ??
+ Fire Chief Hines stated publicly that a shortage of fire fighters has placed our citizens in danger. Would training of additional firee fighters as paramedics leave us with fewer fire fighters on duty or much increased overtime or additional cost for temporary fire fighters to fill these positions while others are being trained as paramedics?? The annual fire department overtime budget is already over $ 400,000. What would be the pay increase for fire fighters who are trained as paramedics?? What will be the future budget impacts of this program to add paramedics to fire trucks ??
+ How will the City fund training of additional fire fighters as paramedics if the City proceeds with paramedic/firee fighters?? How will the City fund the expensive equipment and medications necessary for paramedics on fire trucks ??
+ We believe that this current proposal to allow the two existing firefighters who are trained as paramedics to perform paramedic services is just the proverbial” nose of the camel in the tent”. If approved, we fully expect to see additional proposals from the Fire Chief in the near future to hire Dr train additional firefighters as paramedics, then purchase smaller emergency response vehicles with transport capabilities, and then ultimately to take over the ambulance services duties including transporting of patients to the hospitals, thereby putting the private ambulance companies out of business. This would be a poor direction for our City to go.
+ Perhaps the Yakima City Council should direct the firefighters duties, when not responding to fire calls, to improving the City’s safety and fire rating by being involved more with code enforcement, weedy lots, trashed up properties, derelict buildings, etc ??
Again, we respect our Yakima Fire Fighters and the job they are paid to perform. We believe the City Council should direct the Yakima Fire Department to focus on the vital fire fighting services and let the private ambulance services do their jobs. We look forward to answers to our questions from our City Council.
M.A. (Mel) Tanasse, President
Save Our American Rights (SOAR)
To: Mayor Dave Edler
Councilmember Maureen Adkison
Councilmember Micah Cawley
Councilmember Kathy Coffey
Councilmember Rick Ensey
Councilmember Bill Lover
Councilmember Sonia Rodriguez
Our March 24, 2009 letter from SOAR to the Yakima City Council asked several questions regarding the EMS proposal. To date, the Council has not addressed or answered any of these questions. We also reminded the City Council of the EMS Levy vote results which were an overwhelming NO vote on this proposal. The idea of expanding the fire department services to include paramedics should be put to rest with another resounding NO vote. SOAR has continued consideration of this issue since it is still under consideration by the City Council and now has more questions including the following:
+ Where is the public support for this proposal?? Where is the citizens group or committee that would be advocating that paramedics be added to fire trucks? The only support for this idea is the fire chief and fire fighters union. Ask yourselves why the fire fighters union is pushing for paramedics on fire trucks?? Why does the firee department want to compete with private ambulance services?? Could the answer be to expand the fire fighters union and increase fire fighter salaries as paramedics while cloaking their proposal under the banner of public safety ??
+ Were the two existing fire fighters hired as firemen or as paramedics?? Do they receive additional compensation because of their advanced training which is not currently required for their jobs ??
+ The City and its citizens currently enjoy private ambulance services and a user pay system. That is, only persons needing EMS and transport services pay for these services. Why would we want to change to a publicly funded system ??
+ Our City currently has an EMS system that works. Unfortunately, our City government cannot afford to be everything to everybody. We have to use our limited resources in the most cost effective manner. Our current EMS with privately funded paramedics works and does not cost our taxpayers money unless they need and use the ambulance service. Why would we want to change ??
+ Why does the City Fire Department respond with large, expensive fire trucks to all 911 EMS calls?? It seems that huge fire trucks costing over $ 800,000 lumbering to an aid call is the absolute waste of a firefighting apparatus?? Why can’t the EMS dispatchers use discretion as to when large, expensive fire trucks are necessary ??
+ Is the City Fire Department responding to all 911 calls for EMS to simply increase their “call volume” to increase statistics and revenue from the Countywide EMS levy funds?? Can’t common sense and good judgement be used to determine when large, expensive fire trucks are sent on EMS calls ??
+ Fire Chief Hines stated publicly that a shortage of fire fighters has placed our citizens in danger. Would training of additional firee fighters as paramedics leave us with fewer fire fighters on duty or much increased overtime or additional cost for temporary fire fighters to fill these positions while others are being trained as paramedics?? The annual fire department overtime budget is already over $ 400,000. What would be the pay increase for fire fighters who are trained as paramedics?? What will be the future budget impacts of this program to add paramedics to fire trucks ??
+ How will the City fund training of additional fire fighters as paramedics if the City proceeds with paramedic/firee fighters?? How will the City fund the expensive equipment and medications necessary for paramedics on fire trucks ??
+ We believe that this current proposal to allow the two existing firefighters who are trained as paramedics to perform paramedic services is just the proverbial” nose of the camel in the tent”. If approved, we fully expect to see additional proposals from the Fire Chief in the near future to hire Dr train additional firefighters as paramedics, then purchase smaller emergency response vehicles with transport capabilities, and then ultimately to take over the ambulance services duties including transporting of patients to the hospitals, thereby putting the private ambulance companies out of business. This would be a poor direction for our City to go.
+ Perhaps the Yakima City Council should direct the firefighters duties, when not responding to fire calls, to improving the City’s safety and fire rating by being involved more with code enforcement, weedy lots, trashed up properties, derelict buildings, etc ??
Again, we respect our Yakima Fire Fighters and the job they are paid to perform. We believe the City Council should direct the Yakima Fire Department to focus on the vital fire fighting services and let the private ambulance services do their jobs. We look forward to answers to our questions from our City Council.
M.A. (Mel) Tanasse, President
Save Our American Rights (SOAR)
This entry was posted
on Monday, October 5th, 2009 at 10:30 am and is filed under Meetings.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
