Correction: Next Fire and Rescue Working Session, Tuesday, March 26 at 5:30 p.m. at Eastsound Fire Hall

By Margie Doyle

At its Town Hall meeting earlier this month, Orcas Fire and Rescue Commissioners, Chief Kevin O’Brien, Sheriff Rob Nou and Department of Emergency Management Representative David Halloran heard from a sparse but well-informed audience, mostly in support of the Orcas Fire and Rescue Department joining a partnership with the Sheriff and other county Fire and Rescue agencies to purchase and operate a new marine transport and rescue boat.

The County Sheriff’s Office received notice last fall that it had been granted an award of up to $785,000 (provided a local match of about $260,000 is obtained) from the Department of Homeland Security  for an emergency response and transport boat. The new boat would replace the Guardian,  which is now home-based on San Juan Island.

The Town Hall meeting on Thursday, March 7 was the second special meeting of its kind  to present the grant opportunity and to receive citizen comment about Orcas Fire and Rescue’s participation in the Marine Operations User’s Group (MOUG) for the boat’s use.

Chief O’Brien opened the meeting by giving statistics on marine transport and rescue in the last five years, as he did at an earlier Town Hall on this matter in January: orcasissues.com/fire-depts-town-hall-describes-rescue-boat-grant

After O’Brien and Nou’s presentation, audience members discussed whether they favored participate in the MOUG as a financial partner that is currently estimated to cost OIFR $25,430 per year (based on 5 transports per year);  or a “pay per use” membership, which is slated to cost $6,500 per EMS transport.

In the past several years, marine operations have included search and rescue, emergency medical service, marine fires and custom and border patrols; Nou said the new boat would continue to be a multi-purpose marine operations boat.

Some of the information elicited by the audience:

  • The Sheriff’s 28- ft Whaler patrol boat at the Orcas ferry landing has over the years taken on water in its lining; the additional weight is overtaxing the engines;
  • The grant includes training and project costs;
  • The new boat will be moored on San Juan Island at same place the Guardian is, and that boat will move to the county dock at Orcas Landing;
  •  The current fire and rescue boat, the Confidence, owned by the San Juan Fire and Rescue District,  will go into surplus and fund the San Juan Fire District’s investment in the new boat;
  • The additional public safety tax that was levied in 2012 won’t cover maintenance costs for  the boat, Nou explained. That tax is intended “to protect and maintain existing services, not for any new programs.”

From the audience, James Wolf questioned some of the underlying assumptions of figures and supported keeping the option to withdraw from the MOUG until more specific numbers are available.

Tom Carter questioned the panel about training for marine operations in using the Guardian  and in using a new boat.

Nou said that the “Intent of MOUG is to develop a pool of qualified operators: those details have yet to be worked out; I’m interested in having the best most competent operators to be at the helm, whether that’s someone affiliated with fire, emergency medical service (EMS) or maritime experience.

“First and foremost we want someone who knows how to drive the boat.”

Fred Klein asked, “Why is this being pitched as a pay-per-use proposition rather than as a fundamental service under your charge? As a taxpayer… I feel as though when I pay those taxes I should be getting the services I need in the event I have some kind of emergency.”

Chief O’Brien said that the purpose of this agreement is to “looking for partnership within public safety community to share that burden.

“We’re not looking for a new tax, just trying to figure out amongst ourselves how to pay for this equitably out of existing tax payer dollars.”

The main question before the Town Hall was defined as a choice between working this new program into the existing Orcas Fire and Rescue budget or paying as billed on a cost-per-use basis.

Medical insurance attorney Tim Blanchard said that the inter-district partnership “makes sense from a management perspective and from an intergovernmental agency perspective.”

In discussing whether the Orcas Fire and Rescue District should provide services outside of district boundaries, and how it may seek reimbursement for those services,  Nou said that out-of-district charges among the county agencies is “an issue we haven’t tackled yet” in the agreement. “These notes will help us develop policy,” he said.

Currently, Lopez and San Juan Islands’ Fire Districts seek reimbursement from the insurers of those they serve. If the client doesn’t have  insurance, he or she won’t be billed if a resident or property owner.

Fred Klein said, “We rely on cooperation and collaboration to keep operations running smoothly. …In terms of Orcas Fire extending beyond the district where it collects it taxes, I salute you for extending help where you can and do the best you can to get reimbursed for those costs.”

Klein also suggested that it may make sense to have the new boat based on Orcas, given the impact of the Peace Island Hospital, which opened on San Juan Island last November.

Tom Carter stated he was opposed to billing people directly, as opposed to seeking reimbursement from insurance companies: “Haven’t we already paid as taxpayers?

Carter added, “Billing is such a scam and doesn’t truly reflect what the cost is. The whole system is a national disgrace.”

Tim Blanchard said, “Tax dollars cover your personal responsibility. A hardship waiver [for those without insurance] is not needed for folks within the district because taxes take care of that. It becomes an issue when dealing with people outside the district.”

Blanchard advised the fire districts should bill EMS and transport services through Medicare and private insurance companies.

After discussing these issues, the majority of the dozen or so people in the audience favored Orcas Fire and Rescue entering full partnership through the MOUG, and build the costs into its budget, rather than paying per incident.

The Fire Commissioners will meet for a regular meeting this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Eastsound Fire Hall. District Commissioner said following the meeting on March 7 that they would need to make a decision soon.

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