TFD Attempting To Take Over EMSA Again?
- Thread starter peterjmag
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tl;dr If they want to bid on the operations contract for EMSA I say let them. But isn't it one contract for both divisions? Wouldn't that mean they'd be serving the OKC metro as well?
OCFD is already formulating their own proposal down here.
Just a question, are TFD and OCFD considering taking over because they're dissatisfied with EMSA's service?
peterjmag
Member
peterjmag
Member
Probably not. They see the revenue that comes into EMSA and wish that it was going to them instead. Fire apparatus is *expensive*.
Looks like all TFD wants to do is to completely change how EMSA works. What could possibly go wrong with that?
This will annoy many people (and cause some of them to type stupid things), but ... the fire service looks at run numbers and see fire calls dropping and dropping and EMS runs climbing and climbing. And some managers wonder how they will sustain their budgets without providing ambulance service. As I said before, fire apparatus is expensive.
As the article notes, TFD tries this every 5 years and, so far, they haven't been able to convince the city that throwing out a working system for something new is in any way worth it.
They should ask the EMS employees in NYC and San Francisco how this has worked out......
jlaizure
Member
I think OKC has a 3/4 cent sales tax for public safety and Norman has a temporary 1/2 cent public safety sales tax
Wondering what that would do to response times for EMS.... I'm guessing it can't be good.
Dunno about about OKC, but Norman's 1/2-cent was for building, equipping, and staffing two new firehouses and hiring a bunch of new cops. One firehouse is built and in service with a new Quint and a new brush pumper. The other hasn't even had the land cleared. AFAIK, the cops have all been hired.
The problem with Norman's sales tax (aside from being a sales tax!) is that it's temporary and runs out in 2013. No idea what will happen to all the cops and firemen who are being paid from that tax once it runs out.
None of the Norman sales tax money goes directly to EMS. There is talk of the NFD converting some Engine Cos to Paramedic Engines but so far it's just talk.
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