Agenda Item No: 1.f
PLACENTIA CITY COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Meeting Date: October 1, 2024
Submitted by: Patrick Powers
From: Administrative Services
Subject:
A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Placentia, California, adopting Purchasing Policy Language in Compliance with Health and Safety Code 1797.231.
Financial Impact:
Fiscal Impact: None
Summary:
This agenda item is submitted to City Council to seek approval to issue a competitive RFP to explore potential private ambulance providers for a possible partnership in providing ambulance transportation services serving one or more of the five exclusive operating area (EOA) regions managed by the County of Orange. The timing of this proposed action is essential for alignment with the County of Orange's upcoming competitive process for new Emergency Ambulance Transportation contracts for a five-year period. The action being requested with this agenda item is only a preliminary step allowing the City to continue researching a potential partnership. This action is non-binding, and no final decision will be requested from the City Council until Staff returns at a future meeting.
Recommendation:
Recommended Actions: It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Direct Staff to develop and issue an RFP to identify a potential private BLS (Basic Life Support) ambulance partner for ambulance transportation serving the Orange County Exclusive Ambulance Operating Area — A (EOA-A) that is comprised of the cities of Placentia and Yorba Linda and certain county unincorporated areas (Attachment 1) managed by the County of Orange; and
2. Using the results from the RFP, direct Staff to design a non-binding public/private partnership to present to the City Council for further consideration at a subsequent meeting, and for potential direction to submit a proposal to the Orange County RFP for the provision of 9-1-1 Basic Life Support emergency ambulance response; and
3. Adopt Resolution No. R-2024-67 establishing a written policy in compliance with Health and Safety code 1797.231.
Strategic Plan Statement:
There is no specific strategic planning goal or objective associated with this agenda item. 192
Discussion:
The County of Orange, through the Emergency Medical Services (OCEMS) agency is responsible for conducting competitive request for proposal processes for the selection of 911 - Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance response services in five regions of the county. The five regions are made up of county unincorporated territory and cities that have not retained the rights to contract for ambulance services themselves according to Health and Safety Code 1797.201.
Since 2014, the OCEMS has conducted RFP's consistent with Health and Safety Code 1797.224 to establish exclusive contracts with responsible ambulance providers in designated regions. The competitive process is necessary to protect the county from violations of anti- trust laws in developing exclusive contracts. Currently, Emergency Ambulance Services (EAS) is contracted with the OCEMS to provide 911 -BLS ambulance to the City of Placentia as part of EOA-A. The contract is set to expire in June 2025 and the OCEMS will be conducting a new competitive process in the coming months.
State law authorizes a city like Placentia, as defined, to enter into a written subcontract with a private ambulance service provider for the purpose of contracting with the County (Health and Safety Code 1797.231(a)(1).) The first step to implement such a contract is to solicit interest in a partnership agreement from private ambulance providers through a competitive RFP process, once the required RFP policy governing the RFP process is in place.
Fiscal Impact Summary:
There is no fiscal impact to this action.
Attachments
Reg ion_A_Ma p_ -_Attach ment_1.pdf
Resolution 2024-67 Adopting Policy in Compliance with HS 9.25.24 final 2.0.docx 193
BREA
0 0.25 0.5
•
FULLERTON
ANAHEIM . :
r
1.5 Z
Mi!es
Orange County Emergency Medical Services
Ambulance Zone and Land Use Areas: Region A
I BREA
Region A
YORBA
LINDA
1 PLACENT1A
C :}
; iJ
I_ Ll
/ .
GRANGE t'
S;ti,y Wilderness Areas
Rural Areas
Orange County Cities
Ambulance Zones
Region A
Region B
Region C
- Region D
Region E
1 :, h..:.' L. nlww.-iw,n...h
... .n..f.l. n 'i •.
194
RESOLUTION NO. R-2024-67
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
PLACENTIA, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING PURCHASING
POLICY LANGUAGE IN COMPLIANCE WITH HEALTH AND
SAFETY CODE 1797.231.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 1797.230, a county may contract for emergency ambulance services with a fire agency, which includes a municipality, that will provide those services, in whole or in part, through a written subcontract with a private ambulance service.
WHEREAS, pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 1797.231, a fire agency may enter into a written subcontract with a private ambulance service for the purpose of contracting with a county.
WHEREAS, on or after January 1, 2022, a county may not enter into or renew a contract for emergency ambulance services with a fire agency, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1797.230, that includes a written subcontract with a private ambulance service, unless the fire agency adopts a written policy that requires the written subcontract to be awarded pursuant to a competitive bidding process consistent with Section 20812 of the Public Contract Code.
WHEREAS, the City, in its capacity as a fire agency, desires to adopt a written policy for the limited purpose of governing the competitive bidding process for selection of a private ambulance provider consistent with Section 20812 of the Public Contract Code in order to allow the City to enter a contract with the County for provision of emergency ambulance services under a subcontract with a private ambulance provider pursuant to Health and Safety Code sections 1797.230 and 1797.231
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that by adopting this Resolution, the City Council of the City of Placentia is hereby adopting the written policy required by Health and Safety Code section 1797.230 governing the competitive bidding process for selection of a subcontracted private ambulance provider, consistent with Section 20812 of the Public Contract Code, and said policy sets forth issues to be considered during the fire agency's (hereinafter, the "City of Placentia's") competitive bidding process, which may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
1. That safeguards are in place to prevent an entity submitting a bid, including an officer, employee, agent, representative, or other official of the entity, from participating in the deliberations of the City of Placentia in awarding the subcontract.
2. That consideration for awarding the written subcontract is given only to bidders who submit complete applications in response to a written request for proposals.
Resolution R-2024-67
195
The written request shall not be prepared in whole or in part by any entity submitting a bid in the competitive bidding process, including an entity's officers, employees, agents, representatives, or officials.
3. That the written request described in paragraph (2) adequately describes criteria to evaluate a bidder's demonstrated ability and commitment to providing cost- efficient and high-quality services, which may include, but are not limited to, the following:
A. Experience and history providing emergency ambulance services in a safe and efficient manner.
B. Proper licensure by the Orange County Emergency Medical Services Agency of all personnel for which licensure is required.
C. Managerial experience and qualifications of key personnel.
D. Effectiveness of operational processes and assets, including quality of ambulance fleet and equipment, dispatch, customer service, and working conditions of ambulance personnel.
E. Performance monitoring and quality control.
F. Reasonable service rates and charges.
G. Financial stability to maintain an uninterrupted and consistent level of service.
IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED that in entering into a written subcontract with a private ambulance service as described in subdivision (a) of Health and Safety Code section 1797.231, the City of Placentia shall:
1. Provide the ambulance service provider with reasonable advance written notice of any operational changes under the written subcontract between the City of Placentia and the ambulance service provider.
2. The City of Placentia shall, in a timely fashion, use best efforts to address concerns raised by the ambulance service provider employees regarding any operational changes under the written subcontract and shall communicate its written responses to those concerns to the ambulance service provider.
3. A bidding ambulance service provider participating in a City of Placentia competitive bidding process pursuant to this section shall demonstrate in its response to a written request for proposals that its ambulance service employees are provided with all of the following:
Resolution R-2024-67
196
a. That comparable wages, benefits, and staffing are generally consistent with those provided to ambulance service employees in the same geographic region.
b. That specific mechanisms to ensure adequate and open communication with the City of Placentia in order to facilitate immediate notice to the recognized employee organization or official representative of the ambulance service provider's employees whenever operational changes are proposed and noticed by the City, as required by subdivision (c), and are likely to have a material impact on the employee's wages, hours, or other terms and conditions of employment.
c. That effective access to the City by the recognized employee organization or official representative of the employees to directly provide input on operations changes, as described in paragraph (2) is provided, and, if requested by the recognized employee organization or official representative of the employees, facilitation of immediate access to the City to allow the employees to set forth specific concerns about the operational changes.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 1st day of October 2024.
Jeremy Yamaguchi, Mayor
ATTEST:
Robert S. McKinnell, City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF ORANGE
I, Robert S. McKinnell, City Clerk of the City of Placentia Do Hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 1st day of October 2024 by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers:
NOES: Councilmembers:
ABSENT: Councilmembers:
ABSTAIN: Councilmembers:
Resolution R-2024-67
197
Robert S. McKinnell, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Christian L. Bettenhausen, City Attorney
Resolution R-2024-67
198