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CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO
INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM
FIRE DEPARTMENT
TO:
Fred Wilson, City Manager
Larry R. Pitzer, Fire chief;;j R r~
April 27, 2006
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Discuss and take possible action regarding a revised EMS User Fee
Program.
COPIES:
Lori Sassoon, Assistant City Manager; Michael Conrad, Deputy Chief
Fire/Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is a comprehensive service for pre-hospital
emergency care of the sick and injured to increase survival rate, decrease permanent
injury, and alleviate suffering by ensuring that our staff provides advanced life support
(ALS) and basic life support (BLS) to victims on scene; ALS and BLS fees are billed to
the person receiving assistance.
At the request of the Mayor, the Fire Department has reviewed the framework of the
EMS User Fee Program and offers the following recommendations to restructure the
program:
. The new EMS user fee be reduced from $250 to $200 for ALS and BLS billable calls.
. Exempt residents over age 65 from paying the EMS user fee.
. Exempt residents that qualify as low-income from paying the EMS user fee. This
would be in accordance with Municipal Chapter 3.44 Service User Tax, Code Section
3.44.144 Exemption for household service users-Low income. The household for any
person applying for an exemption must not exceed the annual gross income as set
forth by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (BUD). For
example, a family size of 4 with an annual gross income of $28,750 qualifies to be
exempt under the 2006 BUD income limit.
. Actively market the annual membership program. The membership program is
designed to assist our city residents with affordable EMS. The city does not bill
enrollees in the membership program for service calls. One membership is sold per
household; all family members living within the household are covered by the
membership. The membership is renewed annually and the billing-processing vendor
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notifies the individuals when renewal is due. The annual membership fees are $24.00
for most residents and $12.00 for low-income residents.
· Extend the billing cycle to a minimum of 180 days and forward unpaid fees to a
collection agency.
If you have any questions please contact me at 384-5286.
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