The Washougal City Council is expected to vote tonight on a proposal to use $150,000 from a dedicated fund to greatly reduce a projected deficit in the emergency medical services system used by residents of Washougal, Camas and the East County Fire & Rescue district.
As part of the proposal, the Camas and Washougal fire departments would partner for a temporary six-month basis. The merger would involve firefighters, paramedics, captains and battalion chiefs.
The EMS system faces a $310,000 shortfall this year due to declining property tax revenue.
While taking $150,000 from Washougal’s EMS Fund would not eliminate the deficit, it would “give us enough breathing room to look at other options,” Mayor Sean Guard said Friday. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at city hall, 1701 C St.
Councilor Jon Russell said the city’s priority is to make sure residents don’t see a disruption in services. From there, Camas and Washougal can evaluate other options, such as using private ambulance services or combining their fire departments into an East Clark County fire service.
Camas City Administrator Lloyd Halverson called the proposal a “positive step forward.” Halverson echoed Guard and Russell’s statements, noting he believes the infusion of money would allow the cities a chance to explore ways to avoid future EMS deficits.
As part of a decades-old agreement, the Camas Fire Department provides paramedic and ambulance services to residents in Camas and Washougal, plus those living in the East County Fire & Rescue district in parts of unincorporated Clark County. Residents pay a property tax levy for those services.
On April 18, fire officials from Camas and Washougal presented council members from both cities with four options to reduce the deficit. Council members from both cities raised concerns that the proposals would be a temporary fix, rather than a solution.
According to the proposal on Monday’s agenda, Washougal would provide one firefighter/IV technician for one of three ambulance shifts and an ambulance stationed at Station 171 in downtown Washougal.
The firefighter/IV technician would cost $55,000. Washougal would also transfer $95,000 to the EMS Fund.
The remaining shortfall would still be more than $160,000.
The two departments’ temporary partnership is expected to result in a further savings of $115,808, fire officials said.
During the temporary merger, Camas’ three battalion chiefs, who alternate 24-hour shifts, would respond to Washougal calls at the same frequency as they would for Camas calls. Firefighters, paramedics and captains from Camas and Washougal will also partner.
Combining the department’s resources on a temporary basis would provide fire and governmental leaders a better sense of whether a permanent merger would be beneficial for Camas and Washougal, Russell said. Vancouver-based private consultant Paul Lewis’ analysis on the pros and cons of such a move is expected to be completed soon.
“If the consolidation is not going to save us a lot of money, we need to look at privatization,” Russell said, noting Washougal should look at contracting with American Medical Response. AMR provides ambulance service in the greater Vancouver area, including Hazel Dell and Salmon Creek.
Washougal explored partnering with AMR three years ago. The study only included Washougal. A new study would need to be done to include Washougal, Camas and East County Fire & Rescue, Russell said.
Attempts to contact Washougal Fire Chief Ron Schumacher were unsuccessful Friday.
