Ambulance Service Called a Success
City Council members will consider minor midyear budget changes at their meeting today and also will hear some heartening news from their firefighters.
The council will discuss a report showing that the city’s controversial move to take over ambulance service from the private sector has led to a substantial decrease in emergency response time.
The progress report was submitted by the Fire Department more than a year after council members overrode protests from private companies to give all emergency ambulance care to firefighters.
Statistics compiled by the department show that the municipal ambulances are reaching victims five minutes faster than before the program began.
The report also states that the new system has saved the city about $300,000 because of fees paid by residents to belong to the paramedic program.
The new emergency system is “an unqualified success after 16 months in operation,” the report concludes.
Also, city finance officials will submit their own report, a mid-year budget analysis, to council members today.
The meeting begins at 4:30 p.m. in City Hall, 300 E. Chapman Ave.
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