Subject:
Title
Amendment to the Advanced Life Support First Responder Agreement with 3 municipalities and independent fire districts.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Sitting as the Pinellas County Emergency Medical Services Authority, approve the amendment to the Advanced Life Support (ALS) First Responder Agreement with eighteen municipalities and independent fire districts.
• Funding in the amount of $14,156,491.00 is consistent and included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Adopted Budget for the Emergency Medical Services Fund.
• Amendment to Agreements with three municipalities and fire districts to provide ALS First Responder services.
• These amendments continue the two-year term beginning on October 1, 2022, and ending on September 30, 2024.
• The agreements are a consolidated and restated agreement that incorporates prior amendments and the current amendments as outlined below.
• In aggregate, the three agreements represent a baseline increase of $1,150,597.00, or 8.85%, over FY22-23.
• Specific enhancements include:
a.) Largo Medic 42 Peak/Civilian Unit.
b.) Traffic Preemption Project.
c.) Requirement for Criminal Justice Information System compliance to support the Pinellas Regional Information Management Enterprise Computer Aided Dispatch System project.
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Strategic Plan:
Ensure Public Health, Safety, and Welfare
2.1 Provide planning, coordination, prevention, and protective services to ensure a safe and secure community
Deliver First Class Services to the Public and Our Customers
5.1 Maximize partner relationships and public outreach
5.3 Ensure effective and efficient delivery of county services and support
Summary:
Summary
The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Authority has determined that an Advanced Life Support First Responder component is in the best interest of public safety, health, and welfare.
The EMS Authority desires to contract with various municipalities and independent special fire districts in the County to provide ALS First Responder Services per the attached agreements.
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Background Information:
On October 25, 2022, the Board of County Commissioners, sitting as the EMS Authority, approved the current ALS First Responder Agreement with eighteen municipalities and independent fire districts.
The current agreement will expire on September 30, 2024.
The proposed amendments would implement system enhancements and adjust funding to meet budget requests that complied with the County’s EMS allowable cost standards.
There are several enhancements to the ALS First Responder Program contained in the attached agreements. Those enhancements include:
a.) Largo - implement Medic forty-two as a peak demand, civilian staffed Authority Funded Unit, mid-year.
b.) Temple Glance Traffic Preemption Project - Capital Project with County Highway Department. The system will enhance safety and decrease emergency response times for every unit on every emergency response. The Traffic Preemption Project will test the change to a comprehensive system that overrides the normal operation of traffic signals during the emergency response of an ALS First Responder Unit to reduce Emergency Response Times and increase safety. Such system changes the upcoming traffic signal to green or holds a green signal so the ALS First Responder Unit can proceed through the intersection.
c.) Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) support for Hexagon CAD.
Fiscal Impact:
Funding Adjustments
Section 701(h) of the Emergency Medical Services ALS First Responder Agreement provides for an extraordinary budget increase which must be negotiated and approved prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year in the event any proposed budget submitted by the Contractor should exceed three percent of the prior Fiscal Year’s budget. These funding adjustments include:
Allowable EMS Cost Increases above FY23 Budget
• City of Largo - $735,507.00 or 8.3%
• City of Madeira Beach - $62,204.00 or 11.3%
• City of Palm Harbor - $352,886.00 or 9.9%
These increases are based upon the submitted budgets for FY24 and will be subject to audit for EMS Allowable costs. The cost drivers are driven largely by increases in salary, retirement contributions based upon recent changes in actuarial assumptions, and other increased allowable costs.
Funding in the amount of $14,156,491.00 is consistent with the FY24 Adopted Budget for the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Fund. The fiscal impact of these agreements is sustainable over the six-year EMS Fund forecast period.
Staff Member Responsible:
James G. Fogarty, Director, Safety and Emergency Services
Partners:
City of Largo
City of Madeira Beach
City of Palm Harbor
Attachments:
ALS First Responder Amendment 1 - Largo
ALS First Responder Amendment 1 - Madeira Beach
ALS First Responder Amendment 1 - Palm Harbor
2022 ALS First Responder Agreement - Largo
2022 ALS First Responder Agreement - Madeira Beach
2022 ALS First Responder Agreement - Palm Harbor