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`~. <br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />i <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: June 19, 2001 <br />Action Agenda <br />Item No. <br />SUBJECT: EMS Transportation Contract (Orange EMS & Rescue Squad, Inc.) _ <br />DEPARTMENT: Emergency Management PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />Nick Waters, ext. 3030 <br />Contract <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham fi88-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To consider renewing the contract with Orange EMS & Rescue Squad, Inc. to <br />provide the transportation component for emergency medical services (EMS) until June 30, <br />2002. <br />BACKGROUND: The County first entered into a contract with South Orange Rescue Squad <br />on September 25, 1996 under which the Squad provides personnel to drive the county <br />ambulances used in the Transportation Component of EMS. This arrangement is part of the <br />system design of Emergency Medical Services and allows the Squad to remain active while <br />preventing or postponing the need to add permanent county staff positions to carry out the task. <br />In 1999, South Orange and Orange County Rescue Squads merged to form the present Orange <br />EMS and Rescue Squad, Inc. The merged organization has continued to perForm this function <br />for the County, under the current contract which expires on June 30, 2001. <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: The terms of the contract call for the County to reimburse the Squad's <br />legitimate EMS related expenses in the amount of $555,230. This amount is included in the <br />Manager's recommended 2001-02 budget for the Department of Emergency Management, and <br />represents an increase of $120,000 over the current contract. Budgeted.fee revenue for the <br />County's total EMS program for FY 2000-01 was $675,000. The Manages recommended <br />budget for FY 2001-02 includes $725,000 in expected EMS fee revenue. <br />As noted in the Manager's transmittal message and formal presentation to the BOCC for the FY <br />2001-02 budget, staff will be examining during the next 6-8 months the options for future <br />delivery of the EMS transportation service. The ability of traditionally volunteer organizations <br />like the Rescue Squad to continue delivering service using only volunteers is diminishing <br />rapidly. The Squad has been obliged to use more and more paid staff, both full-time and part- <br />time temporary, to meet their staffing obligations under the terms of this contract with the <br />County. Squad financial records indicate that during FY 2000-01, it has not been uncommon <br />for the Squad to have to dip into its own reserves for as much as $8,000-$12,000 monthly in <br />