By Marissa Harshman
The Columbian
CAMAS, Wash. — Declining assessed property values have caused a funding shortfall for emergency medical services in east county.
Expenditures for EMS services in Camas, Washougal and East County Fire & Rescue district are estimated to total about $2.9 million this year. The expected revenue is just $2.6 million, Camas City Administrator Lloyd Halverson said.
That $300,000 shortfall will mean changes, Camas Mayor Paul Dennis said.
“We know that we can’t continue to provide the same service that we’re providing now throughout the year,” he said. “We’re not willing to run the service through the ground.”
In the late 1970s, Camas, Washougal and what is now East County Fire & Rescue formed an interlocal agreement for EMS services. The city of Camas administers the service. Voters in the service area have repeatedly approved EMS levies to support the operation.
Declining assessed property values coupled with declining Medicare/Medicaid reimbursements have created a funding predicament, Dennis said.
In Camas, assessed values dropped by 7.6 percent; in the ECFR district by 7.9 percent; and in Washougal by 12.25 percent.
The decline in assessed values put the cities of Camas and Washougal at their levy lids and means the cities are collecting less in property taxes than last year.
The problem is compounded in Washougal by the passage of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District levy in November, Washougal Mayor Sean Guard said.
That month Camas, Washougal and ECFR voters also passed an EMS levy. However, the EMS levy is junior to the FVRL levy. Because of the levy lid and the library levy, the city of Washougal will not be able to collect the full 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed value voters approved for EMS services.
“Even though we passed the levy, we’re not collecting all of it,” Guard said.
The city of Camas is not part of the FVRL District, so the situation does not apply there.
As Camas city officials crunched the numbers, they discovered the once self-sufficient EMS operation would be in trouble in 2011, Dennis said.
The situation has prompted city officials to re-evaluate current ambulance staffing levels to look for savings. Currently, a minimum of two people are on duty 24/7 at the Grass Valley and Washougal stations. The downtown Camas station has a minimum of four people on duty around the clock.
The Washougal ambulance staffing was added a couple years ago. Now, Dennis said, that staffing will likely be reduced in order to save money.
Dennis said his initial suggestion was to reduce the Washougal staffing from 24 hours to 12 hours, just during peak times. Even with the reduction, crews from other stations would still be able to meet recommended response times, he said.
Closing the station entirely hasn’t been discussed, Dennis said.
Still, news of a possible staffing reduction has prompted members of the Camas/Washougal Professional Firefighters union and citizens in the community to hold a rally today.
“This is a rally to show support so electeds will continue to support the service just as they have,” said Kevin Bergstrom, president of the union.
Dennis has also asked the city of Washougal for a $150,000 contribution to the operation from the city’s special purpose EMS fund. The request amount was determined by a cost-based analysis of EMS service to Washougal. That request hasn’t been rejected, Dennis said, but the Washougal City Council asked for additional information before making a decision.
The Camas City Council will discuss EMS funding at its planning conference Jan. 28 and 29 and then approach the Washougal council again, Dennis said.
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