By Israel J. Carreón Jr.
Redlands Daily Facts
REDLANDS, Calif. — The Redlands City Council has opted not to move forward with a tax measure that would have increased funding for paramedic services.
The council reached consensus at its meeting Tuesday, Oct. 7 , as part of an ongoing discussion aimed at generating additional revenue to offset expenses. The city established the paramedic tax in 1982 and voters renewed it in 1985, but officials say it has not kept pace with the rising costs of maintaining services. Paramedic services will cost about $1.28 million this year, but the tax will bring in only about $1.15 million, according to the city.
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“Some of the apparent gap reflects accounting allocations for firefighter paramedics who also perform fire-suppression duties rather than a true funding deficit,” said Daniela Garcia , director of management services. Garcia said the paramedic tax continues to provide a stable source of funding for emergency medical services.
This year’s estimated $130,00 shortfall can be managed by pulling from the city’s general fund, according to city staff, who say they continue to assess the costs of the paramedic program every three to five years.
The city is correcting a misleading financial picture, according to a staff report prepared for the council meeting.
The paramedic services fund is not experiencing a structural deficit, the report clarified. The “shortfall” is associated with an accounting allocation related to dual-certified paramedic/firefighter personnel. When paramedic/firefighters perform fire-suppression duties, the city’s general fund reimburses the paramedic services fund.
Garcia said that advancing a ballot measure to increase the paramedic tax might require the city to hire an outside consultant and conduct voter surveys. The city would also need an outreach campaign to measure support for the tax, she said. A staff report indicates that total costs would range from $70,000 to $90,000.
Council members expressed unanimous opposition to moving forward with a tax measure because they did not want to increase taxes or pay for campaign costs. They said they believed that drawing from the general fund to fill in the paramedic funding gap was a sufficient solution.
“I don’t believe it’s worth the investment for the return,” Mayor Mario Saucedo said. “I think it’s just an ill-conceived time to bring any type of tax to our residents … given the economic environment that we’re in.”
Mayor Pro Tem Marc Shaw echoed that sentiment.
“I get that we’re $129,800 off,” he said, “but I don’t think that we’re far enough out of balance at this point where we should pursue additional funding for that.”
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