Agenda - 06-12-1989 - Laserfiche WebLink

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that the most important issue is the volunteer spirit. Orange County has been a leader in starting rescue squads with volunteers in North Carolina. That leadership trend is continuing. Many of the volunteers have reached the highest level of certification at the national level. She mentioned she felt that the User Fee Study neglected to take into consideration the financial and labor input by EMS volunteers. It only begins to address the economic impact on the volunteer squads and does not examine other alternatives to fund the cost of EMS. . Ms. Barbara Overby, a volunteer paramedic with South Orange Rescue Squad, spoke in opposition to charging a fee. She indicated that volunteers with the Orange County rescue squads pursue advance training to reach the paramedic level which enable them to provide life saving fluids, drugs and cardiac techniques prior to arrival at the hospital. She stated that the User Fee Study needed to include volunteer and citizen input. She also stated that her belief is that donations will plummet of user fees are implemented. Recruitment of new volunteers will decrease. Rapport with the community will be damaged, other forms of commitment and support in the community will drop off, and current members will leave. Mr. Bobby Green stated that the Orange County Rescue Squad was founded in 1968, and the South Orange Rescue Squad was founded in 1971. The volunteers have served the county since that time. He stated that he did not understand why the philosophy behind the EMS is any different than the philosophy behind fire and police service. He suggested that other alternatives to the user fee be pursued. Alternatives include (1) leave the system as it is, (2) institute an EMS tax, (3) use the water bill as a means of allowing citizens to indicate willingness to donate a specified amount of money, or (4) ask citizens to subscribe. PRESENTATION BY COUNTY MANAGER John Link stated that the first part of his presentation would be information previously requested by the Commissioners. He used overheads to show the breakdown between paid staff and volunteers. Copies of these "overheads" are incorporated herein • by reference and may be found in the permanent agenda file in the Clerk's office. • Chairman Carey asked the rescue squad volunteers to understand that the Commissioners and county staff recognize the high quality of service they provide. They realize that throughout North Carolina, and elsewhere, Orange County's rescue squads set an example of rescue service at its best. The fee for service proposal is one way the county could assure that high quality service would continue into the foreseeable future. He mentioned that the rescue service in Fairfax County, Va. realized that EMS service is not a free service. The issue of .how the service will be financed is one that must be addressed. He encouraged the EMS volunteers to share other "models" with the Commissioners so that a well-informed decision may be made. Commissioner Wilihoit stated that when this issue came up in 1980 it was because the squads had difficulty in finding volunteers during the day. Therefore, paid staff were hired and a fee for service was initiated to recoup the cost of salaries. Commissioner Hartwell indicated that he and Bobby Strayhorn agree that the service is not free. They also are in complete agreement that they do not want to do anything that would lower the quality of service in the County. However, Mr. Strayhorn felt that having the charge for this service show up in his tax bill and knowing that the main thing he is doing is subsidizing the insurance companies is not the way he would like to go. He feels that the goal of everyone in the room needs to be (1) to acknowledge that it is not free, (2) to honor the volunteers and the role they play in delivering the