The Colusa County Board of Supervisors’ efforts to figure out a way to fund a second ambulance took a turn on Tuesday when they learned the cost of ambulance services, in general, is far more than they anticipated.
Now, the county’s Ambulance Tax Measure ad hoc committee, composed of Chairman Merced Corona and Supervisor Daurice Smith, has a new task ahead: figure out a way to fund the first ambulance.
In her interim ad hoc report, Smith said the scope of the ad hoc, which was formed in 2021 to gather information in preparation of putting a tax measure on the November 2020 ballot to fund a second Advanced Life Support ambulance, has now changed.
“We found the one ALS ambulance we have continues to operate at a gross loss,” Smith said. “Down the road, if we don’t find a method to retain the one ambulance, we won’t have that if we don’t take a proactive approach.”
County officials will have to decide by early summer if they will place a tax measure before voters. They previously thought $1.8 million would be enough for the county to boost ambulance services, which would be covered with a .50 cent sales tax increase, but that was before they learned the existing ALS ambulance is operating at an annual loss in excess of $800,000.
Smith said the county understands the problem: the primary users of ambulance services are residents on Medicare or Medi-Cal, which allows the state and federal government to reimburse the ambulance provider at rates far below the actual cost.
Smith said the reimbursement by the government has not changed in 25 years, but personnel costs, equipment, and fuel continues to increase.
“There is just no way to come out and make that a positive,” Smith said.
Currently, Enloe Medical Center is subsidizing the full-time ALS ambulance, with local fire departments picking up some transports with basic units, but it’s unknown how any of them will be able to keep up with expenses, officials said.
The county is still awaiting a commissioned sales tax report identifying where in the county sales taxes are generated, whether largely on the I-5 corridor or from local agriculture retail purchases, such as tractors and fertilizer, before they make a decision to reach out to voters.
Once they receive the report, the board will have to determine if .25 cents or .50 could be enough to keep from driving business to counties with lower taxes, or if they will have to ask voters for a full 1 cent increase on all taxable goods and services to provide adequate lifesaving services, Corona said.
Because the county may propose a special tax, the ballot measure would require two-thirds voter approval (66 percent) rather than a simple majority (50 percent plus one).
Meanwhile, the board directed the ad hoc to look at partnering with other cities and fire agencies to try and cover the cost of the first ambulance.
County officials also acknowledged it will take broader lobbying by multiple agencies and organizations to get the state and federal reimbursement rates increased.
“We are all well aware that this is not a Colusa County exclusive issue,” said Colusa County Administrative Officer Wendy Tyler.