Sell me on voting yes for the Vision Public Safety package.

[AquaMan]

Its complicated and political. We actually share the expense of EMSA with OKC. Go figure. We've come close a couple times to re-doing the whole system but they have escaped so far. Same director since its inception. You tend to make long term friends and knowledge of skeletons. Reference TCSD.

[Conan71]

If you have to respond firefighters to each call, why not do like Broken Arrow and bring the ambulance service back into the fire stations?    It seems pretty straightforward.

Or is that opening doors that money has paid to be tightly closed?

Tulsa looked at that several years ago.  We discussed it here at length and I'm sure the conversation eventually segued to Marshall's beer. 

I think the EMSA contract was up and the city looked into the FD taking on that responsibility and seems like they figured out it was cheaper to use EMSA.  I'm not sure though that they took into account that the FD is still first responder to accidents and med emergencies when it was all calculated out (ergo my rant about saving money with the FD no longer doing first response so long as we have a contract with EMSA).  I can't imagine it's really more expensive to station a paramedic truck at each station, staffing requirements should be the same as it would with EMSA currently.

Remember though, Oklahoma is fond of it's authorities and little fiefdoms so don't expect a change any time soon.

http://www.newson6.com/story/15279015/tulsa-fire-department-wants-citys-ambulance-contract

Sounds like OKCFD has had issues with ambulance availability.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/emsa-oklahoma-city-fire-department-at-odds-over-ambulance-availability/article_0db1973d-728a-5c3a-896a-e7fb1883493b.html

EMSA, Oklahoma City fire department at odds over ambulance availability

OKLAHOMA CITY - The Emergency Medical Services Authority, commonly known as EMSA, reported more than 160 times last year that it was at "level zero," indicating it had no ambulances available to respond to emergencies in the metro area, according to figures compiled by the Oklahoma City Fire Department.

When ambulance service goes to level zero, Oklahoma City sends fire rigs to all medical calls, defeating efforts to reduce costs and keep fire department paramedics free to respond to the highest-priority calls.

Jim Winham, EMSA's chief operating officer, said the situation on the streets is less dire than it would appear on paper. Factoring in situations where, for example, an ambulance has dropped a patient at a hospital but not yet returned to "post" shows that true level zero is an extraordinary event, he said.

EMSA's record of meeting contractual requirements that ambulances respond within 10 minutes and 59 seconds to life-threatening calls 90 percent of the time and patient outcomes, highlighted by a better than 40 percent survival rate for heart attack patients, show the system works well, Winham said.

Click here to link to the article at NewsOK. Some stories require an Oklahoman subscription to read.

[davideinstein]

There's no way it's cheaper to have EMSA.

[AquaMan]

Not as long as we have both. I see OKC only requires FD when its high priority or zero level at their EMSA.

I think the argument made here was that as long as they kept response times within the contractual limits and EMSA put the billing on city utilities there wasn't enough savings to justify having TFD do the work. Especially since the TFD would then ask for more funding.

[TeeDub]

Not as long as we have both. I see OKC only requires FD when its high priority or zero level at their EMSA.

I think the argument made here was that as long as they kept response times within the contractual limits and EMSA put the billing on city utilities there wasn't enough savings to justify having TFD do the work. Especially since the TFD would then ask for more funding.

If you figure that $5.45 per month "EMSAcare" could be diverted from EMSA to TFD, it may go a long way to help offset the cost of bringing the ambulance service back in house.   That is above and beyond what insurance pays.


If I pay the utility fee, will you bill my insurance?
Yes.EMSA has and will continue to bill any third-party insurance payors. More than 80% of EMSA's revenue comes from third-party insurance payments, such as Medicare, Medicaid, private health insurance and others. It would be unfair for taxpayers to bear the burden of healthcare costs that could be otherwise covered by insurance providers.

[AquaMan]

Hard to argue with that logic. But they did and won the battle. Authorities, once formed, are difficult to dismantle.

[patric]

Hard to argue with that logic. But they did and won the battle. Authorities, once formed, are difficult to dismantle.

Just remember what it was before EMSA

[Conan71]

Just remember what it was before EMSA

I wonder how many women Cos molested during that shoot.

[Townsend]

I wonder how many women Cos molested during that shoot.

Not just women...

[dbacksfan 2.0]

I wonder how many women Cos molested during that shoot.

Nah, That was Larry Hagman's job. 

[dbacksfan 2.0]

Cos was practicing new drug therapies.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Just remember what it was before EMSA

Central Ambulance.  In hearses.  Bag 'em and tag 'em. 

I haven't had to use EMSA in a long time, but last time they were very good.  Any direct bad experiences out there more recent than 25 years or so??

Family has had direct experience with Broken Arrow system several times over last 15 years.  Exceptional group of people in their organization!

Both systems can be made to work well.  Just can't do it on half staffing, half equipment all the time like we tend to try for in Tulsa.  Doesn't need to be in Vision though.

I vote No to Vision for police/fire.  Dewby, quit short changing the city!  Do your job!!

[TeeDub]

Even the police have doubts that the safety tax is a good idea.


Police union still worried city won't use public safety tax as promised

    "I guarantee you, their (the Mayor's Office's) plan is when they start getting that new tax, they are going to use it to get us back up to strength, and that is not the way it's been sold to the public," Ballenger said. "If that's the case, they could cut us by 100 officers, and that new tax is really only going to fund 60 new officers, instead of 160."

https://www.readfrontier.com/spotlight/police-union-still-worried-mayors-office-wont-use-public-safety-tax-intended/

[Vashta Nerada]

Even the police have doubts that the safety tax is a good idea.


Police union still worried city won't use public safety tax as promised

    "I guarantee you, their (the Mayor's Office's) plan is when they start getting that new tax, they are going to use it to get us back up to strength, and that is not the way it's been sold to the public," Ballenger said. "If that's the case, they could cut us by 100 officers, and that new tax is really only going to fund 60 new officers, instead of 160."

https://www.readfrontier.com/spotlight/police-union-still-worried-mayors-office-wont-use-public-safety-tax-intended/

Police Union says the city needs to put the revenue from the new public safety sales tax in a "lock box" until the Police Department reaches its authorized strength of 783 officers, or 61 percent of the city's general fund is permanently obligated to public safety.
https://www.readfrontier.com/spotlight/police-union-still-worried-mayors-office-wont-use-public-safety-tax-intended/

"Frankly, how is the mayor going to deal with the public when we have a public safety tax that has been approved and he is sitting on the money until we have 783 officers? That would be irresponsible," Twombly said. "I don't know where anyone comes up with these kinds of schemes."

[TheArtist]

Police Union says the city needs to put the revenue from the new public safety sales tax in a "lock box" until the Police Department reaches its authorized strength of 783 officers, or 61 percent of the city's general fund is permanently obligated to public safety.
https://www.readfrontier.com/spotlight/police-union-still-worried-mayors-office-wont-use-public-safety-tax-intended/

"Frankly, how is the mayor going to deal with the public when we have a public safety tax that has been approved and he is sitting on the money until we have 783 officers? That would be irresponsible," Twombly said. "I don't know where anyone comes up with these kinds of schemes."

I thought the term "lock box" in this instance meant, that portion of the tax could "only to be used for X" until they met the goals (783 officers etc.),   not "not to spend any of the tax at all" until they met the goals?