After 4 1/2 hours of debate and...

After 4 1/2 hours of debate and four deadlocked votes, the San Diego City Council on Tuesday postponed a decision on a medical services contract for city employees. Four firms are finalists for the contract to treat work-related injuries for the city’s 6,500 employees from July, 1985, through June, 1986. Although an independent panel of health and fiscal experts had ranked the city’s current provider, Industrial Medical Group, first in quality of care and cost control, a council committee three weeks ago passed over IMG to recommend the fourth-ranked firm, Center for Industrial Medicine. CIM has claimed it could reduce by 50% to 75% the city’s current $4.6 million workers’ compensation bill. On Tuesday, CIM and the other three top-ranked firms--IMG, Rees-Stealy Medical Group and Industrial Medical Corp.--used lobbyists and dozens of colorful, often conflicting, charts to claim that each was best.