Montebello : $30 Annual Fee Established for Ambulance, Paramedics

The Montebello City Council has approved a program that will allow residents and businesses to pay a $30 annual fee to cover ambulance and paramedic services.

The program, in which residents who want to sign up pay the city $30 and the city then covers all costs for paramedic and ambulance services, is expected to be implemented sometime this spring, Councilman William Molinari said. Molinari said the town’s sizable senior citizen community would benefit most from such a service.

Residents are now paying about $50 for paramedic service and about $250 for ambulance transport within Montebello city limits, Molinari said.

“Senior citizens are particularly concerned about the expensive costs,” Molinari said. “This gives them peace of mind. If they need ambulance service they don’t have to worry about the cost.”

Because fees have not been determined for low-income and senior residents, it is unknown how many people will have to sign up in order for the program to become self-supporting, according to the staff report. It is estimated that more than 20% of the town’s residents paying the standard $30 would join within a few years, bringing in $137,000 to cover costs.