HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-12-09 City CouncilCi ¢ of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Report 7
TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS/FIRE
DATE:DECEMBER 9, 1996 CMR: 475:96
SUBJECT:BUDGET AMENDMENT ORDINANCE TO FUND ~
PURCHASE OF TWO TRANSPORT-CAPABLE FIRE ENGINES
REOUEST
This report requests Council approval of a Budget Amendment Ordinance (BAO) for
$630,000 from retained earnings in the Vehicle Replacement and Maintenance Internal
Service Fund to purchase two transport capable fire engines.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Staff recommends that Council approve the attached Budget Amendment Ordinance for
$630,000 to fund the purchase of two transport-capable fire engines at the estimated cost
of $315,000 each.
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Approval of the Budget Amendment Ordinance does not represent any change to existing
policies.
EXECUTIVE S~ARY
BACKGROUND
The City of Palo Alto Fire Department (PAFD) has been providing paramedic service,
including the transport of patients, since 1974. When Palo Alto paramedics are available
to respond, they deliver a superior level of service on every call. PAFD paramedic
response times continue to meet the response goal of six minutes or less to 90 percent of
all Emergency Medical Service (EMS) calls. This response time currently is achieved for
90.5 percent of the patients transported by PAFD. The remaining 9.5 percent of patients
must wait longer for private paramedics to respond from the Santa Clara County contract
service provider.
When PAFD paramedics are unavailable to respond on "simultaneous calls," because they
are on other calls or they are in the process of transporting a patient to the hospital, backup
paramedic services are currently being provided by American Medical Response (AMR),
CMR:475:96 Page 1 of 4
the County contractor. The County contractor average response time into Palo Alto is
16.5 minutes. The extended response times for "backup calls" in Palo Alto by the County
contractor can be attributed in part to the geographic location of Palo Alto ( north end of
the County) and to the County contractor’s contractual obligations to provide ambulances
to its service area throughout the County. The County contractor transports approximately
250-300 patients from Palo Alto a year, or 9.5 percent of all transports.
The call and transport volume, and resulting out of service time, for PAFD paramedics has
increased significantly over the past several years. In FY 1983-84, PAFD paramedics
responded to approximately 972 emergency medical calls. In FY 1994-95, they responded
to 3,642 emergency medical calls and transported 2,819 patients to local hospitals. This
trend is expected to continue due to the following factors:
1.Community population is getting older.
More people are using, or passing through, the Palo Alto/Stanford area as
demonstrated by traffic demand studies.
Development and expansion of residential care facilities, skilled nursing facilities,
and increased responses to urgent care facilities. Responses to urgent care facilities
are up 20 percent from the previous year.
In late 1992, the Fire Department conducted a study to evaluate alternative paramedic service
delivery methods to meet the current and future demands for service in the Palo
Alto/Stanford service area. The program, which was 18 years old, had not undergone any
significant changes in the prior 10 years. That study resulted in a staff report to the City
Council in mid 1993 which recommended service level improvements to the paramedic
program. Those changes were approved by the City Council in June 1993 for FY 93-94, and
have resulted in improved effectiveness and efficiency. The changes produced shorter
ambulance response times for 20 percent of the approximate 2,000 annual emergency
medical service (EMS) patients at that time. It also resulted in yielding revenues that
accomplished the program cost recovery goal of 100 percent.
In 1995, the study was updated to provide ongoing analysis of existing service levels,
paramedic program trends, service delivery options, and financing options. The products of
this analysis are recommendations to better meet existing and future service demands. These
recommendations are the result of continual monitoring of key performance indicators of the
program.
As such, the plan identifies program deficiencies and possible improvements to the existing
paramedic program. Transport-capable engines are one of several key recommendations in
the updated study. Each element of the plan is intended to allow the program to continue
CMR: 475:96 Page 2 of 4
to meet the changing service level needs, while maintaining 100 percent cost recovery.
Transport-capable engines will improve response times to 4.5 percent of the patient
population. It will also improve the Fire Department’s ability to provide advanced life-
support services during natural or man-made disasters. The increased cost of the fire
engines to make them transport capable is estimated to be about $30,000 per engine. The
increase will be covered by transport fees collected for the additional 4.5 percent of
patients transported to a local hospital by these units. This does not include any increase
in the rate of paramedic fees. Increased revenues from transports will offset the new
expenditures for transport-capable fire engines and equipment. Approximately 5 percent
of patient transports in Palo Alto will continue to be provided by the County contractor.
No staff’mg increase for the Fire Department will be needed, although an increase in the
number of authorized paramedics may be recommended through future budget processes
to arrive at the capability to transport 100 percent of patients within the Palo Alto/Stanford
service area. However, such a recommendation is separate and distinct from the
equipment purchase request and would also need to be capable of maintaining 100 percent
cost recovery for the paramedic program.
Nationally, a few departments have purchased fire apparatus with the capability of
transporting a patient to the hospital under certain conditions. Currently, no engines are
being used as a primary method of patient transportation. An ambulance system is still
relied upon as the main method of patient transport. This system has been developed in
Phoenix, Arizona; Kent, Washington; Sand City, Utah; and a few others. None has been
implemented in California.
Vehicle Replacement Program
The Public Works Department administers the Vehicle Replacement Program to replace
City vehicles on a schedule that provides optimized performance and reliability to City
Departments. Fire engines are on a 20-year replacement cycle, 15 years in front line
service and 5 years in reserve service. Two 1974 Crown Fire Engine Pumpers were
funded for replacement in Fiscal Year 1995-96 at $235,000 each. The estimate of
$235,000 for each fire engine was based on the last fire engine purchased by the City in
1991. Replacement of the fire engines was delayed due to the Fire Department’s decision
to replace the engines with transport-pumpers.The Fire Department requested a
$470,000 reappropriation for fiscal year 1995-96.
Bidding Process
Fire Department staff researched the cost of adding transport capability to the fire engines
and found the basic unit cost would be approximately $250,000 each. In 1995, a
Specification Committee (Committee) to develop specifications was formed with Public
Works Equipment Management and Fire Department staff. Requests for Bids were issued
in June 1996 to ten vendors, and one response was received. The one bidder offered a
CMR: 475:96 Page 3 of 4
transport engine at $306,000 but did not meet several important minimum specifications
of the bid. The Committee reviewed the one bid response and decided to pass on the bid,
and revise the specifications and cost estimates. The budgeted funds were returned to the
Internal Service Fund.
Members of the Committee contacted fire departments in the Bay Area and Southern
California to establish an average cost of fire engines currently on order. The Committee
determined the average cost of a fire engine without transport capability, complete and
ready for service, to be $285,000. The transport capability feature would add $30,000 to
that average cost, revising the estimated cost to $315,000 per transport engine.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds are requested from the Vehicle Replacement Reserves per the attached Budget
Amendment Ordinance.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
This project is exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA), under Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA guidelines, because it can be seen with
certainty that there is no possibility that it will have a significant effect on the environment.
ATTACHMENT
Budget Amendment Ordinance
PREPARED BY: Alan Simpson, Fleet Manager
Judith A. Jewell, Deputy Fire Chief
DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW:
DEPARTMENT HEAD REVIEW:
GLENN S. P~OBERTS
Director of Public Works
Fire Chief/
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
FLEMING
Manager
CMR: 475:96 Page 4 of 4
ORDINANCE NO.
ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO
AMENDING THE BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1996-97 TO
PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATION TO FUND THE PURCHASE
OF TWO TRANSPORT-CAPABLE FIRE ENGINES FROM RETAINED
EARNINGS IN THE VEHICLE REPLACEMENT AND MAINTENANCE
INTERNAL SERVICE FUND.
~THEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of Article
III of the Charter of the City of Palo Alto, the Council on June
24, 1996 did adopt a budget for fiscal year 1996-97; and
WHEREAS, the City has been providing paramedic services,
including the transport of patients since 1974; and
WHEREAS, the emergency medical calls and volume transport has
increased from approximately 972 in 1983-84 to 3,642 in 1994-95,
including 2,819 patient transports to !ocal hospitals; and
WHEREAS, two fire engines are due for replacement at a cost of
$570,000 and by adding transport capability features at a cost of
$60,000, the City will have less dependency on contract back-up
service; and
WHEREAS, the transfer of $630,000 from retained earnings in the
Vehicle Replacement and Maintenance Internal Service Fund will fund
the purchase of the two transport-capable fire engines; and
WHEREAS, City Council authorization is needed to amend the
1996-97 budget as hereinafter set forth.
NOW, THEREFORE, the Council of the City of Palo Alto does
ORDAIN as follows:
SECTION ]. The sum of Six Hundred Thirty Thousand Dollars
($630,000) is hereby appropriated to non-salary expenses in the
Functional Area Vehicle and Maintenance, and retained earnings is
correspondingly reduced.
SECTION 2. This transaction will reduce retained earnings
from $8,138,462 to $7,508,462.
SECTION 3... As specified in Section 2.28.080(a) of the Palo
Alto Municipal Code, a two-thirds vote of the City Council is
required to adopt this ordinance.
SECTION 4. This project has been determined to be
categorically exempt under Section 15302 of the California
Environmenta! Quality Act.
SECTION 5. As provided in Section 2.04.350 of the Palo Alto
Municipal Code, this ordinance shall become effective upon adoption.
INTRODUCED AND PASSED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTENTIONS:
ABSENT:
ATTEST:APPROVED:
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:City Manager
Senior Asst. City Attorney Deputy City
Administrative
Department
Manager,
Services
Director of Public Works
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