One idea: The fire department could buy its own ambulance and charge patients a transport fee.
By MELIA BOWIE
Published January 14, 2004
NEW PORT RICHEY - City fire officials took their turn Tuesday night explaining the duties and details of their department to the City Council.
The presentation was one of several requested in 2003 by City Council members to help them evaluate the service and efficiency of New Port Richey's various city departments.
The discussions come as elected leaders brace for a projected budget shortfall in the 2004-05 fiscal year and beyond.
City administrators and finance staff already are saying that without significant changes, New Port Richey will be unable to fund its basic services such as police, public works, fire, parks and recreation and the library without tax increases or reducing staff.
Amid that backdrop, fire Chief Dan Azzariti outlined on Tuesday several options his department has to possibly increase revenue and improve its service to the community.
"We just need the council to tell us which way they want to go," he said earlier this week.
Among the options presented were formalizing mutual aid agreements with Pasco County and Port Richey so that New Port Richey crews automatically respond to fires in certain parts of those other jurisdictions without first being called for help and adding more fire volunteers.
Another option calls for buying an ambulance and charging user fees to transport medical patients (the bulk of the fire department's calls) to the hospital. Currently, the department does not have an ambulance so it responds with a fire engine, gives what treatment it can, then calls an ambulance from another agency.
"We're already an ALS (advanced life support) provider," Azzariti said. "So really all we're talking about is a ride to the hospital."
Although New Port Richey would need county permission to do so, putting an ambulance on the street with a minimum crew of six could cost $250,000 to $275,000, but "it would generate at least $100,000 above and beyond that which could be put back into the general fund," Azzariti said.
In a three-year period, about 6,000 medical calls originated in the city. "We feel that those transports would have generated nearly $1.26-million" at a 70 percent recovery rate, the chief said.
A $50 annual service fee per household also was suggested along with an interlocal agreement that would charge the Community Redevelopment Agency $250,000, for example, to offset fire department costs.
Currently the city's Fire & Emergency Services department has a $2.1-million budget and makes up nearly 19 percent of this year's $11.3-million general fund budget. The fire department employs 23 people full time and about 10 to 15 part-time firefighters.
- Melia Bowie covers the city of New Port Richey. She can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6229, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6229.
