[Altavia]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

If someone, their wife/husband, their neighbor, their friend has to wait 30 or 40 minutes for the AMR ambulance, and doesn’t survive, the extra $200 for the ambulances to operate within the fire department and show up within 5 minutes is a bargain.

Anyone who thought moving the ambulances from a for profit (who set staffing to make a profit), thus the 40 minute wait times, was NOT going to be substantially more expensive was crazy.

The fire department (and county) need to levy taxes to NOT lose money, BUT their primary driver is constituent service, not profit.

From my simple simple minded perspective, I'd be more than happy to pay an additional dollar a day for the enhanced ambulance service.

[Happydaz]

Originally Posted by Altavia

From my simple simple minded perspective, I'd be more than happy to pay an additional dollar a day for the enhanced ambulance service.

Unfortunately an extra dollar a day paid by homeowners won’t cover this budget shortfall. The study done by Sumter County did show a need for homeowners to pay around $300 plus but that study also had businesses paying a fire assessment fee based on square footage.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Happydaz

Unfortunately an extra dollar a day paid by homeowners won’t cover this budget shortfall. The study done by Sumter County did show a need for homeowners to pay around $300 plus but that study also had businesses paying a fire assessment fee based on square footage.

It looks like the same amount of money could have been raised if the $124 fee was simply increased to $500 with no changes to who pays. Unfortunately, there is little doubt that those who objected to a $200 would have objected even more strongly to a $375 increase.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Goldwingnut

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).

Don''

Thank you for answering me in a way that I can understand.

[kkingston57]

Originally Posted by Papa_lecki

Not sure what really happened with the Independent Fire Commission vote (i.e. would we be in the situation if that vote passed, what were the real facts, etc).
But this is a disaster. I am sure some of this is positioning.

“Sumter County Fire Chief Rob Hanson said he would need to lay off 30 firefighters and nix plans to hire 27 more employees to overcome a $12 million hole in his $24.2-million budget. VPSD Fire Chief Brian Twiss said he would lose 57 new positions planned in his $34.5-million budget.

Last week, American Medical Response (AMR) announced it was pulling its staff and three ambulances from Sumter County due to the budget cuts. AMR, a national private company that provided ambulance service before the two fire departments took it over, will continue to lease four ambulances to Sumter County. The company had a three-year contract to aid the transition to a fully county-operated service.“

This problem and the answers to the problem are as clear as mud. Too much overlap in services. We have a Lady Lake adress(per the post office), live in The Villages and are barely in Sumter Couty. Lake and Marion County are < 1 mile away. Let each county have jurisdiction on Fire and Police services.

[Nevinator]

Don,

Thank you for being so candid and for the detailed explanation in your two responses to this matter.

The only remaining question that I have concerns the decision to add 16 ambulances to replace the previous support provided by 6 ambulances. I understand that response times were unacceptable, but what was the methodology used to justify increasing the number that substantially? Also, assuming that the final number is 16 ambulances and crews, has anyone provided any estimates as to how long that level of support will adequately support the community before more equipment/crews need to be added to support the ever-growing community?

Many thanks!

[JGibson]

Now they want to tap into the amenities fund to pay the $14 million for VPSD.

Two fire departments were always going to be a convoluted mess.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by JGibson

Now they want to tap into the amenities fund to pay the $14 million for VPSD.

Two fire departments were always going to be a convoluted mess.

What is the convoluted mess? Separate counties have always had separate fire departments, cities and counties typically have separate fire departments, and where I grew up, separate towns within a county all have separate fire departments. It all works well there and it works well here.

There are several sources of funding for the VPSD. The Sumter county transfer (which includes the $124 assessment) is the largest source but there are other transfers as well. One of the sources is $4.08 per month from our amenity fees. As this amount has not changed in many years (perhaps since 2007), a question was asked whether there would be any support for increasing the amount. At least one member of the AAC was not supportive.

"They" don't want to "tap into the amenities fund." The VCCDD which funds the VPSD is exploring options to help close a $14M shortfall. Adjusting the amenity fee contribution was just one possibility.

[Stu from NYC]

Hopefully this will be resolved quickly and fairly with everyone paying an appropriate amount.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

I'm confused, Goldwing. You say AMR ran off insurance co-pays and receipts, and therefore cost the county nothing. Won't the county be running off insurance co-pays and receipts as well? Or are you saying that patients requiring ambulance service will never get a bill for the service?

If that's the case - if hubby passes out in the town square due to dehydration (as he did 2 years ago), I won't see a bill for $1700 for the privilege of him climbing into the ambulance by himself (because he refused to be carried in), not allowing anyone to ride with him, inserting a bag of fluids to his vein, and transporting him ONE BLOCK from the town square to the free-standing ER center?

Because if that's what you're saying, then heck - I'll pay the extra $4/month. I'll also make sure that if I even -think- I might need an ambulance, I will absolutely call for one.

Just remember though - I'm already paying taxes for fire service via my actual tax bill to Lake County. Being double-taxed would be really bad, and most of us living in the Lake County part of The Villages might want to have a word about which entity will be refunding us every year.