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Fire-rescue faces fiscal emergency of its own
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer BROOKSVILLE -- Hernando County taxpayers soon might have to give another cash infusion to the strapped emergency medical services division. Billings and other income streams have not met expectations, fire-rescue Chief Mike Nickerson said, and overtime costs are projected to exceed the budget. Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements are lagging months behind, crippling cash flow, he said. The $469,351 general fund contribution that commissioners made to the system did not go as far as officials had hoped. If current trends continue, budget director George Zoettlein said, the division could wind up as much as $750,000 in the hole by the end of fiscal 2002. Part of that amount would be late payments, which eventually will roll in, and part would be deficit. "Seeing it's a special revenue fund, and you're required to keep all your funds in the black, it's required to come up with additional cash," Zoettlein said. "The only place it can come from this year is the general fund." That's property tax money. To use it, Zoettlein noted, commissioners will have to slash something else. He hoped unanticipated revenue that appears each year when the county closes its books would mitigate the cuts to come. He and Nickerson half expected this situation to arise, and urged commissioners during the budget season to create a special taxing unit to support the ambulance service. Commissioners rejected that idea, though, voiding that safety net as an option this year. "We attempted to resolve that earlier this year," Nickerson said. "It's back on the board's plate." He planned to recommend options to commissioners during February. Whatever way they decide to go, Nickerson said, more income must be the end result. "You're basically looking at a pretty good increase," he said. "If you look at it annually, we'll have about $375,000 in annual shortfall. We need an annual increase in revenue to fund it." Here's how the problem shapes up. At the end of fiscal 2001, which ended Sept. 30, the division broke even but did not have as large a surplus as it expected. It also owed the general fund $350,000 that it borrowed to ease its cash flow woes during the year. Rather than repay the loan in fiscal 2001, Zoettlein explained, division leaders got permission to pay it off the next year, when they had money. In the first days of October, under a new budget, the division received its $469,351 from the general fund, from which the $350,000 loan repayment was made. Only $119,351 remained for department use. It did not turn out to be enough. That's because monthly income projections of $151,000 came in too high -- the actual average was $138,000, meaning the budgeted revenue was about $150,000 more than reality. The department's expectation that Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements would come two months after bills went out also proved wrong. Rather, repayments were coming in after four to six months, meaning cash to pay for services was in short supply. And costs were higher than expected. A statewide paramedic shortage left at least 10 positions open at any given time, forcing the existing staff to work overtime. Zoettlein said the department's overtime budget is at least $78,000 below what it needs to be. That's before six more positions come open when a new east-side ambulance is to go into service in March. Nickerson said he will tell commissioners that new ambulance service now is contingent upon his ability to hire the appropriate staff. "They're losing ground as time goes by," Zoettlein said. -- Staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek covers Hernando County government and can be reached at 754-6115. Send e-mail to solochek@sptimes.com.
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