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As Emergency Calls Increase, Kalispell Seeks Support for EMS

City officials propose mill levy, asking voters to decide the quality of emergency medical services

By Dillon Tabish

In a city of 20,000 residents, and a rural valley approaching 90,000, it’s not uncommon for the seven or eight emergency responders on duty each day in Kalispell to stay busy.

The firefighters and paramedics at the Kalispell Fire Department answer a wide array of calls that frequently and sporadically pop up, including heart attacks, strokes and vehicle accidents. With the largest collective of emergency resources in the valley, Kalispell provides Advanced Life Support and other rescue and response operations as a public service dating back to 1932.

“Basically we bring the emergency room to your door,” says Kalispell Fire Chief Dave Dedman.

From Sept. 1-Sept. 12, Kalispell’s paramedics responded to 132 calls, according to city data. Last year there were a total of 2,143 calls for emergency medical services (EMS) in the city.

While the department has downsized staffing levels in recent years to cut its budget, the frequency of calls has continued to increase, tying up Kalispell’s resources and requiring the help of adjacent EMS crews. Last year there were 143 calls, including 96 ambulance transports, that could not be answered locally and required mutual aid from around the valley, leading to longer response times.

The City of Kalispell is seeking ways to maintain a high level of emergency services by increasing staffing and making capital improvements, such as updating its aging fleet of ambulances.

City officials are proposing a mill levy worth $736,000 a year. Voters will decide whether to enact the permanent mill increase in the upcoming general election. Mail ballots are arriving Oct. 6 and polling stations will be open on election day, Nov. 4.

The new levy would raise annual property taxes for city homeowners by $24.48 for a home valued at $100,000; a home valued at $200,000 would see $48.96 in additional property taxes.

Doug Russell, city manager of Kalispell, said the EMS fund is faced with financial difficulties that need to be addressed in order to preserve the public service, and the proposed levy could provide a short- and long-term remedy.

By handing the decision over to voters, Russell said, “it allows the community to decide what level of service they want.”

After financial issues were identified in last year’s budget process, city officials, union leaders and members of the International Association of Fire Fighters began reviewing alternative funding strategies for the EMS fund.

The options, detailed in a 36-page report on the city’s website, included bolstering the EMS fund through a voter-approved mill levy; closing a fire station and eliminating the station’s personnel; combining fire, EMS and law enforcement into one department; privatizing EMS services; incorporate a dynamic staffing program that would reorganize daily shifts; and maintain the current level of services and budgetary appropriations.

After review, the city decided the mill levy was the best option.

The mill levy, if approved, would remove the city’s general fund subsidy; allow for capital equipment replacement; and provide staffing levels that would allow the city to have three ambulances in service, instead of two, according to Russell.

If the levy were rejected, the city would have to take a hard look at its EMS program now and into the future, Russell said. That could mean potentially closing a fire station to reduce operating costs, losing crewmembers to attrition or privatizing emergency medical services.

Other large cities across the state have opted to privatize EMS.

Russell doubts privatization would work in Kalispell, questioning whether a company would find it feasible to run an EMS business without a subsidy from the city or noticeable drop in operations.

“I honestly don’t think we’d be able to get that paramedic level of service at the value we provide it,” he said.

Privatizing EMS would also lead to a minimal savings for the city, estimated at $30,000, Russell said. The city would still have to staff its fire stations with personnel, he said.

Dedman, the fire chief since 2012 and a member of the Kalispell Fire Department since 1996, is also worried about alternatives such as privatizing EMS.

“To me it’s a service, not a business. I’m not in it to make money. I’m in it to serve the community,” he said. “This is where I grew up. I want to see the best service that we can offer, and the best service that the community is willing to support.”

Dedman said the department has done everything it can to be fiscally responsible but there are sizeable needs within the department and priorities that have been deferred in recent years, including replacing equipment that is “sub-adequate.”

The newest ambulance is nearly 10 years old, and two ambulances have over 100,000 miles.

Last year’s EMS budget was $968,919. Of that, $590,000 came from fees for service, $110,000 came from county levy support and $260,000 was subsidized through the city’s general fund.

Russell said it would be difficult to divert any additional support from the general fund without placing a greater burden on other departments.

With the new levy funds, the city could operate three 24-hour shifts with two additional personnel; the average shift currently has seven or eight crewmembers on duty at most times.