Eliminating the Moses Lake ambulance service could cost either firefighters or money.
Acting Fire Chief Brett Bastian repeated what other firefighters and the previous fire chief have stated in a 24-page report he presented to the city council.
Councilmember Jon Lane asked the city officials to develop the report to explain what the fire department would look like without the ambulance service. The request came after renewed discussions about whether the city can afford to continue to provide the service.
Bastian stated the money the city receives from the ambulance utility fee and from patients allows the city’s fire department to pay 13 firefighters.
The ambulance service was established in 2001 as the city was annexing Wheeler Road. As the city was putting the ambulance service into place, city officials realized it would require some additional money from the city’s general fund to support it.
Officials initially estimated the department needed an additional $75,000 from the city’s general fund to support it.
“Over time, the focus shifted from providing additional staffing within the fire department to meet the changing needs of the city, and the focus became one of whether or not the ambulance service was making money," Bastian stated.