MEASURE K
2021-22 Annual Report
The year of the COVID-19 pandemic
City of San Pablo Page 2
Measure K 2021-2022
Prepared by Public Profit | May 2023
About this Report
This report is presented to the Measure K Citizens’ Oversight Committee along with a report entitled “Independent Accountant’s Report on Applying Agreed Upon Procedures for City of San Pablo Measure K Collection, Management and Expenditures for the Year Ended June 30, 2022.”
The Independent Accountant’s Report was prepared by:
Maze & Associates Accountancy Corporation
3478 Buskirk Avenue, Suite 215
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
The San Pablo Measure K Report was prepared by:
Public Profit
1624 Franklin, Suite 600
Oakland, CA 94612
City of San Pablo Page 3
Measure K 2021-2022
Prepared by Public Profit | May 2023
Table of Contents
About this Report................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 2 About Measure K ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ......... 4 Financial Summary ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 5 Impact ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 7 Looking Ahead ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ............. 9
City of San Pablo Page 4
Measure K 2021-2022
Prepared by Public Profit | May 2023
About Measure K
Measure K was a City of San Pablo (City) special sales tax measure approved by a 71% “Yes” vote on the June 3 rd, 2014 ballot.1 The measure authorized a quarter -cent increase in the City’s sales tax in perpetuity (the current sales tax rate is 9.75%). As a special tax, the money generated from Measure K is restricted to fund the creation and operation of an Emergency Me dical Services (EMS) Squad out of Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (Con Fire) Station 70 in downtown San Pablo.
With the closure of Doctor’s Medical Center and unstable funding of Fire Station 70 from Con Fire, the City Council authorized that Measure K be placed on the ballot to ensure that Emergency Medical Services provided through Station 70 continue in the future. Many local residents depend on Station 70 for 100% of their EMS services. Station 70 is the second busiest fire station in the District, with over 4,600 service calls annually. Prior to the passage of Measure K , Station 70 was only staffed by three fire fighter/paramedics at one Engine Company due to budget restrictions that grew out of the economic downturn.2 Funding from Measure K allowed the District to add one EMS squad vehicle supported by two additional personnel dedicated solely to respond to emergency medical calls.
1 Contra Costa County Elections Division (2014). Official Results, June 3, 2014 Statewide Primary Election. Retrieved March 18, 2021 from http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CA/Contra_Costa/51632/134539/Web01/en/summary.html 2 City of San Pablo (2014). Measure K. Retrieved March 18, 2021 from http://www.ci.san- pablo.ca.us/index.aspx?nid=1380
City of San Pablo Page 5
Measure K 2021-2022
Prepared by Public Profit | May 2023
Financial Summary
During Fiscal Year 2021-22, Measure K
provided $ 1,025,357 in revenue , and
$1,615,686 was spent in Measure K
expenditures.3 Maze and Associates conducted
an agreed -upon procedures engagement to
assist the City in accounting and reporting on
collection, management , and expenditure of
the Measure K revenue for the period between
July 1st, 2021 to June 30th, 2022. The purpose of
this engagement was solely to support the City
in complying with the requirements of Section
3.26.140 of Ordinance 201 4-007 and was
conducted in accordance with attestation
standards established by the American Institute
of Certified Public Accountants . City
management was wholly responsible for the collection, administration, and expenditure of Measure K funds.4
Measure K expenditures included four payments of $403,200 and $2,886 for auditing and evaluation consulting (totaling $1,615,686) for Fire Station 70 enhanced Emergency Medical Services for the months of July 2021 through June 2022. The funds were used to cover the contracted personnel cost of the EMS squad during that time frame.
FIGURE 1. MEASURE K, FY 2021-2022 (JULY 1ST, 2021 TO JUNE 30TH, 2022)
3 The discrepancy between revenues and expenditures is due to the 2014 contractual arrangement between the City and the Fire District for enhanced EMS services.
4 Independent Accountant’s Report on Applying Agreed Upon Procedures for Measure K Collection, Management and Expenditures for the Year Ended June 30, 2022.
Revenues:
$1,025,357
Budget:
$918,000
Expenditures:
$1,615,686
City of San Pablo Page 6
Measure K 2021-2022
Prepared by Public Profit | May 2023
TABLE 1. SUMMARY OF MEASURE K EXPENDITURES BY TYPE AND PURPOSE Expenditures Amounts
Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (CCFPD)
Contract for Supplemental EMS Squad at Station 70 $1,612,800 Professional Services $2,886
Total Measure K Expenditures $1,615,686
Source: FY 2021-2022 Measure K expenditure report provided by City of San Pablo, Independent Accountant’s Report on Applying Agreed Upon Procedures for Measure K Collection, Management and Expenditures for the Year Ended June 30, 2022.
FIGURE 2. TOTAL MEASURE K EXPENDITURES ($1,615,686)
Source: FY 2021-2022 Measure K expenditure report provided by City of San Pablo, Independent Accountant’s Report on Applying Agreed Upon Procedures for Measure K Collection, Management and Expenditures for the Year Ended June 30, 2022.
CCFPD Contract for
Supplemental EMS Squad at
Station 70
$1,612,800
Professional Services and Other
$2,886
City of San Pablo Page 7
Measure K 2021-2022
Prepared by Public Profit | May 2023
Impact
The new EMS squad launched service in 2015 . The squad (titled ‘Squad 70’ within the county) responds independently to medical calls that can be handled by its initial response, such as respiratory issues, fractures, fainting, or illnesses. The large elderly and care-home population of the City generates a high volume of such medical calls for service.
The paramedic-staffed units in the City of San Pablo continued to serve the c itizens well. In Fiscal Year 2021-2022, the crews at Station 70 responded to a total of 4,620 emergency calls, a considerable jump from the previous year. Of these, 2,965 were EMS responses. A further 249 responses were in the Rescue category, primarily mo tor vehicle accidents or other incidents requiring special rescue equipment. Fire-related calls (1,228) and hazardous condition responses (178) were responsible for the balance of the calls.
FIGURE 3. BREAKDOWN OF EMS PERSONNEL RESPONSES FOR JULY 2021 – JUNE 2022
2,965 EMS
Personnel
Responses
178 total
hazard
responses.
1,228 fire
condition calls
in the City of
San Pablo.
249 rescue
calls in the City
of San Pablo.
4,620 annual
responses.
City of San Pablo Page 8
Measure K 2021-2022
Prepared by Public Profit | May 2023
The emergency medical improvements initiated by Measure K continue to provide crucial service to the citizens of San Pablo. As the program matures, so does the delivery of more robust EMS capability. The single EMS/Fire crew in the city prior to the program has grown to two fully staffed companies thanks to th e impetus of Measure K. The city -provided funds provided an additional paramedic and EMT on duty (usually two paramedics). During this reporting year, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (CCCFPD) was able to add at least one additional perso nnel to each shift, thereby standardizing full staffing of at least three personnel on each of its 35 on-duty crews.
Certain operational restrictions that were in place with the two-person squad were lifted and the new Truck/Rescue 70 fully responds along with Engine 70. The cost for this additional staffing and equipment enhancement was fully borne by the fire district but would not have occurred without the Measure K support.
While the original personnel on Squad 70 were
specifically assigned to that unit, the six daily
personnel at Station 70 are interchangeable to
both units and are a blended station crew. Both
pieces of apparatus are paramedic staffed and
operate more seamlessly on consecutive or
concurrent emergencies. It is the depth of having
the second unit, enabled by Measure K that
makes a tremendous difference in the delivery of
advanced life support to the community.
Fire Station 70 still ranks among the busiest fire
stations within Contra Costa County. Emergency
calls within San Pablo are often concurrent. Prior
to this measure, a secondary (concurrent)
emergency required a mutual aid request to
Richmond or a farther agency. This meant not only longer response time to the scene but the responding mutual aid fire crew was not ALS (paramedic) staffed. That situation is now rare with the second unit at Station 70.
Further validating the additional EMS staffing was the county -wide challenge with ambulance availability. With the closure of Doctor’s Hospital, San Pablo (and Doctor’s Pinole some years prior), ambulances had to travel a greater distance to and from the facilities. Compounding the travel time was a nationwide challenge for overburdened emergency departments. In Contra Costa County, ambulances idled for extended periods outside the hospital, waiting to discharge their patients to the emergency room when space was available. This of course took those units out of service. It was quite common for the emergency dispatch center to be at “Level Zero,” which meant that no ambulances were immediately available within the entire county. The ability to have the Station 70 paramedics on scene, providing advanced life support during the wait, has been lifesaving.
City of San Pablo Page 9
Measure K 2021-2022
Prepared by Public Profit | May 2023
Looking Ahead
On April 12, 2021, the crews and equipment at Station 70 moved into the new state -of-the-art fire station in San Pablo. This enhanced the ability of the crews to rehabilitate, decontaminate and re - supply equipment after each response. Additionally, in -service training is enhanced with improved teaching aids and space. With this larger facility, the fire district was able to standardize the operations at Station 70 with all countywide fire agencies. As noted last year, the Measure K paramedics transitioned to a new response apparatus, an aerial rescue apparatus. This larger unit increases crew capabilities and carries significantly more specialized equipment and personnel. The fire district fully funded this apparatus and augmented the apparatus staffing at district expense as well.
Lastly, Con Fire continues to manage the county ambulance contract with operational “absorption” of American Medical Response (AMR) into county operations including its fire dispatch. This allows for close regional coordination of transport assets as well as the most efficient use of the squad personnel. In addition to this, the fire district also took over operation of the medical helicopter response for the county, adding coordination of another special asset in Contra Costa.