An initial presentation of the Concord city manager’s proposed fiscal year 2019 budget was dominated by discussion about ambulance services, a conversation that is expected to continue Thursday.
City Manager Tom Aspell presented an overview of the $65 million operating budget Monday, the beginning of a roughly monthlong road to adoption. But what started out as a general conversation soon became very specific – how much the city bills surrounding communities when it provides ambulance services.
The answer: zero. There’s no language in Concord’s mutual aid agreements that stipulates the city provide an ambulance, but sending one along for calls has become a common practice for public safety departments, Concord fire Chief Dan Andrus said.
The person transported in the ambulance ends up paying for the ride, he noted. A third-party company then works with the patient; sometimes, if financial hardship is proved, the bill is written off, but the company also works with patients to create payment plans. This sometimes means services rendered won’t be paid off for years, he said.
There is nuance to the situation, however. Concord has intercept agreements with some communities where a paramedic will meet another municipalities’ ambulances if requested. That’s a charge of $549, Andrus said.
To get a sense of how often Concord provides mutual aid, Andrus reported in April that the city gave aid 81 times and received it 51 times from January to March.
During fiscal year 2017, Concord billed for about $1.9 million worth of ambulance services and received $1 million back.
The schedule for budget discussion is as follows:
Thursday, May 24, 5:30 p.m.: General Government (Administration)
Public Safety
– Police
– Fire
General Services
May 31, 5:30 p.m.: Community development
Leisure Services
– Library
– Parks and Recreation
Human Services
June, 4 5:30 p.m.: Special revenue funds and enterprise funds
– Project inspection
– Parking
– Airport
– Conservation property
– Golf course
– Arena
– Solid waste
– Water
– Wastewater
June 7, 5:30 p.m.
Nonpublic session on Comp Adjustment, followed by public meeting on capital improvement programs
June 11, 7 p.m.: Regular city council meeting
June 14, 5:30 p.m.:
Committee work session, followed by public hearing and adoption of the budget
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)