Agenda Item C.2
CPMS DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEM
Meeting Date: February 21, 2023
TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
FROM: Robert Nisbet, City Manager
Deborah S. Lopez, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Request To Support The Award Of EMS Contract To Provide Ambulance Services To The Santa Barbara County Fire Department
RECOMMENDATION:
Consider a Councilmember request to adopt Resolution No. 23__, entitled “A Resolution of the City Council of t he City of Goleta, California Expressing the City’s Desire that the County of Santa Barbara Should Award the Santa Barbara County Fire Department the County’s Emergency Medical Services Contract to Provide Ambulance and Associated Services to the Residents of Santa Barbara County and, By Extension, the City of Goleta”.
BACKGROUND:
Councilmember James Kyriaco made a request that staff add this item to the agenda for Council discussion and possible action. Councilmember Luz Reyes -Martin concurred in comment at the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness meeting of February 15, 2023. The Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee did not discuss or deliberate the merits of this request.
The City of Goleta is within the Santa Barbara County Fire District and relies on the Santa Barbara County Fire Department to provide fire, emergency, and lifesaving services to our residents. Santa Barbara County Fire Department has been providing services to the residents of Santa Barbara County since 1926 . Serving the City of Goleta, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department has four fire stations , staffing four fire engines, one ladder truck and one ambulance, that have provided excellent critical fire and emergency services since City incorporation in 2002.
The County separately contracts for ambulance services, including emergency response and transport and inter -facility transfers. American Medical Response, Inc. ( AMR) has been the ambulance services provider in Santa Barbara County for about 50 years, and the County recently conducted a public bidding process for the contract for the first time.
The new contract will be for services beginning in 2024. 1 Meeting Date: February 21, 2023
A panel evaluated proposals from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and AMR and recommended awar d to AMR. The Santa Barbara County Fire Chief protested the initial decision on the Department’s behalf , which was denied by the County’s procurement officer. The Fire Chief has now filed an appeal under County procurement processes.
DISCUSSION:
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department maintains that it has proven over the decades that it has the best tools and training to provide life saving measures for all Santa Barbara County residents. In support of its position, it offers the following.
While the Santa Barbara County Fire Department currently provides ambulance services to various communities in Santa Barbara County, if given the opportunity to provide ambulance service countywide, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and its associated city and special fire districts will have the ability to comprehensively operate its 37 fire stations and over 470 firefighters to improve response time efficiencies and cost savings in strategic alignment to Santa Barbara County resident needs.
Should the Santa Barbara County Fire Department operate ambulatory and fire related services, they will create a Community Advisory Group – consisting of first response providers, labor representatives, educational institutions, hospitals and receiving facilities, mental health providers, substance abuse providers – that will provide community members and stakeholders an opportunity to have input into our Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system.
While the Santa Barbara County Fire Department is operationally and fiscally responsible to Santa Barbara County taxpayers and the Board of Supervisors, it is a not -for-profit entity and such a merger of fire and ambulatory services will provide better financial accountability and transparency to our communities and policy makers.
The proposed resolution (Attachment 1) for Council’s consideration provides that the City of Goleta “supports better services through a more comprehensive, transparent and accountable approach to EMS services and thus strongly desires that the County of Santa Barbara award Santa Barbara County Fire Department the EMS contract to provide ambulance and associated services to the City of Goleta.”
FISCAL IMPACTS:
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
2 Meeting Date: February 21, 2023
ALTERNATIVES:
The City Council can choose not to adopt the proposed resolution.
Reviewed By: Legal Review By: Approved By:
___________________ ___________________ _________________ Kristine Schmidt Megan Garibaldi Robert Nisbet
Assistant City Manager City Attorney City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 2 3__, entitled “ “A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Goleta, California Expressing the City’s Desire that the County of Santa Barbara Should Award the Santa Barbara County Fire Department the County’s Emergency Medical Services Contract to Provide Ambulance and Associated Services to the Residents of Santa Barbara County and, By Extension, the City of Goleta”
3 ATTACHMENT 1
Resolution No. 23__, entitled ““A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Goleta, California Expressing the City’s Desire that the County of Santa Barbara Should Award the Santa Barbara County Fire Department the County’s Emergency Medical Services Contract to Provide Ambulance and Associated Services to the Residents of Santa Barbara County and, By Extension, the City of Goleta”
4 Resolution No. 23-XX Expressing the City’s Desire that the County of Santa Barbara Should Award the Santa Barbara County Fire Department the County’s Emergency Medical Services Contract to Provide Ambulance and Associated Services to the Residents of Santa Barbara County and, By Extension, the City of Goleta.
RESOLUTION NO. 23-XX
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GOLETA, CALIFORNIA EXPRESSING THE CITY’S DESIRE THAT THE
COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA SHOULD AWARD THE SANTA
BARBARA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT THE COUNTY’S
EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES CONTRACT TO PROVIDE
AMBULANCE AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES TO THE RESIDENTS
OF SANTA BARBARA COUNTY AND, BY EXTENSION, THE CITY
OF GOLETA.
WHEREAS, the City of Goleta relies, through contract, on the Santa Barbara County Fire Department to provide fire, emergency, and lifesaving services to our residents, and
WHEREAS, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department has been providing critical lifesaving and emergency services to the residents of Santa Barbara County since 1926, and
WHEREAS, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department has saved countless lives through its nationally recognized paramedic program since 1973, and WHEREAS, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department has 16 fire stations and 250 fire personal and paramedics providing ALS transport throughout Santa Barbara County, and
WHEREAS, serving the City of Goleta, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department has four fire stations, staffing four fire engines, one ladder truck and one ambulance that have provided excellent critical fire and emergency services since City incorporation in 2002, and
WHEREAS, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department has proven over the decades that they have the best tools and training to provide life saving measures for all Santa Barbara County residents, and
WHEREAS, while the Santa Barbar a County Fire Department currently provides ambulance services to various communities in Santa Barbara County, if given the opportunity to provide ambulance service countywide, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and its associated city and special fi re districts will have the ability to comprehensively operate its 37 fire stations and over 470 firefighters to improve response time efficiencies and cost savings in strategic alignment to Santa Barbara County resident needs, and
5 Resolution No. 23-XX Expressing the City’s Desire that the County of Santa Barbara Should Award the Santa Barbara County Fire Department the County’s Emergency Medical Services Contract to Provide Ambulance and Associated Services to the Residents of Santa Barbara County and, By Extension, the City of Goleta.
WHEREAS, Fire Chiefs thro ughout Santa Barbara County declare that assignment of ground ambulance service to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department aligns well with the County’s values: Accountability, Customer Focus, Equity & Inclusion, Innovation, Trust & Ethics, and
WHEREAS, should the Santa Barbara County Fire Department operate ambulatory and fire related services, they will create a Community Advisory Group – consisting of first response providers, labor representatives, educational institutions, hospitals and receiving fac ilities, mental health providers, substance abuse providers – that provides community members and stakeholders an opportunity to have input into our Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system, and
WHEREAS, and being a public sector agency every bit of the profit that is generated from the ambulance contract the Santa Barbara County Fire Department would reinvest into the communities, through proactive preventative measures such as Community Paramedicine and Alternative Ambulatory Destination to address urgen t challenges like mental health, substance abuse, and our un-housed community members, and WHEREAS, while the Santa Barbara County Fire Department is operationally and fiscally responsible to Santa Barbara County taxpayers and the Board of Supervisors, it is a not -for-profit entity and such a merger of fire and ambulatory services will provide better financial accountability and transparency to our communities and policy makers , and
WHEREAS, through a comprehensive approach to ambulatory and fire management, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department will provide more available ambulances county wide, better ambulance on scene times, higher compliance percentage, and increased unit hours to increase the number of ambulances available throughout the entire county, and
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Goleta hereby finds and determines as follows:
SECTION 1.
A. The City of Goleta supports better services through a more comprehensive, transparent and accountable approach to EMS and thus strongly desires that the County of Santa Barbara award Santa Barbara County Fire Department the EMS contract to provide ambulance and associated services to the City of Goleta.
SECTION 2. Certification by City Clerk
City Clerk shall certify as to the adoption of this resolution and enter it into the original book of resolutions.
6 Resolution No. 23-XX Expressing the City’s Desire that the County of Santa Barbara Should Award the Santa Barbara County Fire Department the County’s Emergency Medical Services Contract to Provide Ambulance and Associated Services to the Residents of Santa Barbara County and, By Extension, the City of Goleta.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 21st day of February, 2023.
__________________________
PAULA PEROTTE
MAYOR
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________ __________________________
DEBORAH S. LOPEZ MEGAN GARIBALDI
CITY CLERK CITY ATTORNEY
7 Resolution No. 23-XX Expressing the City’s Desire that the County of Santa Barbara Should Award the Santa Barbara County Fire Department the County’s Emergency Medical Services Contract to Provide Ambulance and Associated Services to the Residents of Santa Barbara County and, By Extension, the City of Goleta.
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA ) ss.
CITY OF GOLETA )
I, DEBORAH S. LOPEZ, City Clerk of the City of Goleta, California, DO HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution No. 23-XX was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Goleta at a regular meeting held on the XX day of February, 2023 by the following roll call vote of the Council:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
(SEAL)
___________________
DEBORAH S. LOPEZ
CITY CLERK
8