At the March 7, 1978, general municipal election, the qualified electors of the City authorized the City, by and through the City Council, to levy an annual property tax rate to fund the City’s Paramedic Program. This annual property tax was not to exceed $0.20 per $100 of assessed value (25% of market value) per year. Beginning in 1981, the County of Orange implemented a policy change concerning Assessed Value. The tax roll is now reported at “Full Taxable Value” rather than Assessed Value. This change resulted in a revised paramedic tax levy of $0.045 per $100 of Full Taxable Value. It did not, however, change the actual amount of taxes paid by the property owner.
State law prohibits the City Council from increasing the paramedic levy above the voter-authorized level. The rate of $0.045 is the maximum that can be levied, regardless of program costs, without a voter-approved increase. The passage of Proposition 218 by the voters in November 1996 had no impact on the City’s ability to levy the annual Paramedic Tax, as the tax was voter-approved in 1978. Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, the City Council adopts a resolution approving the rate of tax upon taxable property within the City of Brea. The adoption of the proposed resolution enables the Orange County Auditor-Controller to apply the rate of taxation to the City of Brea’s property tax rolls, and ultimately enables the City to maintain the Paramedic Program.
Since its inception in 1979, the Brea Fire Services Department Paramedic Program has grown considerably from the days when the paramedics responded to calls in an old red van. Currently, the paramedics utilize a modern paramedic engine company configuration. The original program that began in Fiscal Year 1978-79 had a budget of $200,000 and was fully funded by revenues generated from the paramedic tax. While the actual tax rate has remained constant over the past 37 years, additional revenue has been generated from increases in the property values. Meanwhile, direct expenditures have increased as the program has been greatly enhanced, as outlined below, and as the City’s population and service demands have increased. Today, the estimated annual cost of the program is $5,512,756. The portion of that cost related to new development in Community Facilities Districts (CFDs) is $194,772 and is paid for from the CFD special taxes. The remainder of the cost, $5,317,984 is funded by the City's General Fund. Estimated revenue to the General Fund from the paramedic tax is $3,592,000 which will cover approximately 67.5% of program costs.
About the Paramedic Program
A “Paramedic Engine Company” is considered the most efficient method of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) delivery, and is currently the most common staffing configuration in operation locally and regionally. This configuration provides for Advanced Life Support capability within its fire fighting and emergency response resources without compromising either service. The City’s paramedic units, Brea Engine Company #1, Truck Company #2 and Engine Company #3, are complete units that respond to both fires and medical emergencies. In addition, resources necessary to provide functional support, such as extrication of patients and fire protection during traffic emergencies, are available at the scene with the paramedic unit.
The program started in Fiscal Year 1978-79 with seven certified paramedics. The Brea Fire Services Department currently carries a complement of 21 certified paramedics. This allocation level meets the staffing requirement of the Orange County EMS Agency while providing for uninterrupted deployment of paramedics during leave, training and emergency conditions. Just as the nature of emergencies has changed, so has the required paramedic skill level. Paramedics are being delegated greater responsibility in the field as emergency room medicine is continually being evaluated and streamlined. Paramedic staff all receive continuous in-service training on a myriad of topics, including: trauma medicine; air and blood-borne pathogens; environmental emergencies; pediatric medicine, including sudden infant death syndrome; swift water rescue and mass casualty management.
Field techniques have improved greatly since the program began with treatment advances in the areas of Adult and Pediatric Intubation (airway management requiring insertion of appliances into the trachea), cervical-spine treatments and neurological protection, improved treatment for burn victims and the AED (cardiac defibrillation) program, which is in service on all responding Brea units.
See next page.
Paramedic Response History
|
|
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
Total Emergency Medical Calls
(Patient Intervention Required) |
2,681 |
2,863 |
3,095(2) |
3,188 |
3,382 |
| Total Calls for Service from Fire Dept. (Including false alarm responses) |
4,247 |
3,663 |
4,158(2) |
4,370 |
5,446 |
| Percent of Total(1) |
63.1% |
78.2% |
74.4% |
73.0% |
62.1% |
| |
| (1)The percentages listed in the table reflect EMS calls where a patient actually received treatment. The paramedic unit responds to a number of calls for emergency medical services that are not reflected in the Total Emergency Medical Calls listed above. These are calls where the paramedic engine was requested to respond, but the injuries evaluated upon arrival did not require medical intervention by the unit. |
| (2)Values were adjusted to the Metro Cities Fire Authority 2014 Annual Communications Center Report. |
|
The requirements of staying current with changing technology ultimately affect the cost of paramedic service and will continue to do so as the costs of training and equipment increase. The Paramedic Program budget for Fiscal Year 2017-18 includes personnel costs for 21 full-time paramedics and related costs to operate the program. For a homeowner with a dwelling assessed at $500,000, the tax rate of $0.045 per $100 valuation will result in an annual charge of $225.
The paramedic tax revenues are included in the General Fund budget. It is estimated the paramedic tax rate of $0.045 per $100 of Full Taxable Value will generate $3,592,000 in General Fund revenues in Fiscal Year 2017-18. The revenue collected will cover approximately 67.5% of the $5,317,984 of estimated program costs, resulting in a shortfall of $1,725,984.00 funded by the General Fund. |