[Goldwingnut]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Don thanks for the info but still do not understand something.

We were already paying for fire and ambulance service and as the Villages grows would think there would be some economy of scale.

Was expecting to pay more for ambulance services as our previous supplier was way to slow getting help to people who need it. If cost went up 1-200 dollars so be it.

Do not understand how this increase can be so much. Certainly have to buy a bunch of ambulances but not costing tens of millions of dollars.

The original ambulance service was costing the county nothing, they ran off their insurance and copay receipts. They had to manage the P&L so they only provided enough ambulances to remain profitable and meet the minimum contract requirements.

After the residents demanded the ambulance services be run by both fire departments, we went from 6 no-cost ambulances to 16 ambulances maned 24/7 by firefighter-paramedics. This adds 7-8 firefighters per ambulance to the payroll per ambulance x 16, so about 125 new staff for the fire departments plus all the operating costs for the vehicles - fuel, service, supplies, etc. An ambulance is not your basic pickup with a shell slapped on it, it is a very specialized and customized vehicle that requires significant maintenance to maintain 24/7 on call reliability. Plus there is staff training and certification costs. This was a huge undertaking by both FDs at considerable expense. These units were to become fully on-line and available this coming year.

Unfortunately, you can't buy ambulances and their crew at Sam Club, there is no economy of scale, in fact as the size increases there is increased overhead costs with a larger department that must be accounted for.

The cost was not for the ambulances in the coming year, those are covered with ARPA funds (Covid relief) that have been set aside and VCCDD has already purchased the VPSD ambulances, no, this cost is all operating costs - fuel, labor, supplies, etc. There was also money in the budget for the building of station 46 on Warm Springs Ave. because the full implementation of capital expenses for both FDs was not scheduled to go into effect for another year, so both FDs had some capital expenses their budget for the upcoming year, a necessary action. (A new ambulance costs between 350-400k fully outfitted).