By Marco Santana
Chicago Daily Herald
CAROL STREAM, Ill. — An ambulance ride to the hospital for Carol Stream residents now will mean revenue for the village’s fire department.
The Carol Stream Fire Protection District board of commissioners on Monday approved charging residents for ambulance services, a move expected to help plug a budget gap of about $450,000.
Officials stressed the district will bill insurance companies so residents won’t incur any out-of-pocket expenses. The ordinance also includes a clause allowing the fire protection district to waive the fee for residents who do not have insurance, or whose insurance does not cover ambulance services.
The chief executive officer of the fire protection district’s medical billing service said the ordinance should have been instituted a long time ago.
“It’s not utilizing resources that are there,” said Pat Mannix, CEO of Andrews Medical Billing. “We’re paying into the insurance companies to have this coverage. I don’t see this as a big issue as far as insurance coverage goes.”
The district has investigated ways to make up the budget shortfall, including the elimination of a part-time firefighter program.
Board President Del Miller said it was time to impose an ambulance fee, as the district is seeking new ways to generate revenue.
“There hasn’t been the financial necessity in Carol Stream,” he said. “But it’s built out, and to maintain services you have to find new streams.”
The fact that the fee will not cost residents anything out-of-pocket was crucial, board Treasurer Bill Natick said.
“You don’t want to set the citizens back,” he said. “We are just trying to offset some of the expenses.”
During the meeting, Carol Stream resident Karl Langhammer said he was concerned about how and where the new revenue would be
spent.
After Mannix’s presentation, however, Langhammer said he felt more satisfied the revenue would help the department.
“The revenue, you just hope will cover the anticipated shortfall and some future needs,” he said after the meeting. “But you can’t continue to spend more than you bring in. I don’t think this district has had to make tough choices yet.”
The measure passed 4-1 with Commissioner Jim Panopoulos voting against it, saying he hoped to investigate lowering taxes in light of the new revenue stream.
Copyright 2010 Paddock Publications, Inc.