38 Date: September 22, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor and City Council
From: Councilwoman Mary Zendejas, First District
Councilwoman Dr. Joni Ricks-Oddie, Ninth District
Councilwoman Megan Kerr, Fifth District
Subject: Paramedic Assessment Unit Enhancement
RECOMMENDATION
Request the City Manager, through the Fire Department and Financial Management Department, to add $131,969 in ongoing structural funding in the General Fund Group to support the enhancement of one Paramedic Assessment Unit (PAU), consistent with the Fire Department’s established PAU deployment model, with deployment to be determined by the Fire Chief based on operational need, system demand, and the geographic distribution of Advanced Life Support (ALS) resources, further expanding ALS capability and strengthening the City’s emergency medical response system citywide.
DISCUSSION
Background
On September 11, 2026, pursuant to Article XVII, Section 1704 of the Long Beach City Charter, Mayor Rex Richardson exercised a partial line-item veto of $131,969 in structural General Fund enhancements within the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department.
In issuing the veto, the Mayor identified the opportunity for the City Council to align these newly available ongoing structural dollars with the City’s public safety priorities and specifically recommended Council bring forward a joint motion to reprogram the funding toward an additional Paramedic Assessment Unit enhancement, identifying Engine 1 at Station 1 in Downtown Long Beach as an opportunity for deployment.
As part of the FY 25 budget process, the City Council allocated funding for a six-month
Honorable Mayor and City Council
September 22, 2026
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Paramedic Assessment Unit pilot program. The Fire Department’s subsequent evaluation demonstrated measurable operational benefits, including improved paramedic response times and more efficient utilization of Advanced Life Support transport resources. Average paramedic arrival time on Charlie level incidents improved from 7 minutes, 28 seconds to 6 minutes, 24 seconds. During the pilot, PAUs handled 2,550 Charlie level incidents without requiring an ALS ambulance response and identified 367 lower priority incidents requiring escalation to Charlie level care.
Building upon these demonstrated results, the addition of another PAU would strategically expand ALS capability while strengthening the geographic distribution of paramedic resources throughout the City’s emergency response system.
The Department also previously operated paramedic engine capability from Station 1 during the temporary relocation of Engine 14 associated with the Station 14 renovation, providing additional operational experience with engine-based ALS capability in the Downtown area. This experience demonstrates the potential value of enhanced ALS capability in the Downtown service area and provides an established operational basis for considering Engine 1 as a deployment location.
Strategically locating additional PAUs can provide earlier ALS assessments, more appropriately match resources to patient needs, and preserve paramedic transport units for incidents requiring ambulance transport and advanced care. Providing the Fire Department with operational discretion over final deployment will allow the additional PAU to be positioned based upon system demand, geographic coverage, resource availability, and evolving emergency response needs.
The addition of another PAU therefore represents a targeted, evidence-based investment in the City’s existing Fire and EMS deployment system, builds upon the PAU model previously evaluated and supported by the City Council, and utilizes newly available structural funding without increasing the City’s structural General Fund deficit.
While Engine 1 represents an identified opportunity for deployment based on the Department’s previous operational experience and Downtown service needs, final deployment would remain within the Fire Department’s operational discretion to ensure the resource is positioned where it provides the greatest systemwide benefit.
This matter has been reviewed by Budget Manager Rebecca Bernstorff on September 18, 2026.
STATEMENT OF URGENCY
This item is being submitted through the supplemental agenda due to the urgency and time sensitivity of this issue.
Honorable Mayor and City Council
September 22, 2026
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FISCAL IMPACT
The recommendation requests $131,969 in on-going structural funding in the General Fund Group in the Fire Department to support one Paramedic Assessment Unit (PAU).
This funding is available as a result of the Mayor's September 11, 2026, partial line-item veto, pursuant to Article XVII, Section 1704 of the City Charter, of $131,969 in structural General Fund enhancements in the Parks, Recreation and Marine Department.
Because this action reprograms structural funding made available through the veto, it can be accommodated without increasing the City's structural General Fund deficit and does not require new revenue or the use of one-time funds.
It should be noted that the $131,969 in available funding is sufficient only to support the conversion of an existing fire engine to a PAU, consistent with the Fire Department's established PAU deployment model, in which paramedic assessment capability is added to an existing engine. Paramedic assessment capacity will be enhanced through conversion of the three Firefighter EMTs assigned to Engine 1 to three Firefighter Paramedic positions. This funding level is not sufficient to establish an additional, standalone PAU, which would require significantly greater ongoing resources for staffing and apparatus. Accordingly, implementation of this recommendation would occur through conversion of Engine 1 to a PAU, which was determined by the Fire Department based on operational need, system demand, and the geographic distribution of department-wide emergency medical services resources.
This recommendation has a minimal staffing impact and no local job impact.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully submitted,
Councilwoman Mary Zendejas, First District
Councilwoman Dr. Joni Ricks-Oddie, Ninth District
Honorable Mayor and City Council
September 22, 2026
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Councilwoman Megan Kerr, Fifth District