In addition to routine fiscal matters, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District commission appointed Christy Slattery as its new Emergency Medical Services coordinator at last week’s meeting.
The coordinator provides clinical oversight, training and representation of the department with the county Emergency Medical Services Agency. The contract pays the coordinator $60 per hour, up to 25 hours of service each month.
“We went on a hunt for a new coordinator and Christy was at the top of the list,” Chief Patrick Reitz said when he recommended her appointment to the commission.
Slattery replaces Kent McCurdy, IFPD’s first EMS coordinator, appointed in 2013.
The financial consultant was able to provide some financial reports for the commission meeting, including a list of checks written during the first quarter of the new fiscal year and preliminary account totals. A balance sheet was not available for the meeting.
Although commissioners Nancy Layton and Jeannine Charles-Stigall had some questions about these preliminary totals, Reitz was satisfied to have a report for the first quarter and urged the commission “not to get hung up on minutia and look at the bottom line.”
According to Rob Dennis’ figures, expenses for the first quarter were $480,000 and revenues totaled about $400,000. Nearly 85 percent of revenues during the first quarter were derived from ambulance revenue and reimbursements from sending crews to fires throughout the state. Salaries and benefits were about 82 percent of all costs during the first quarter.
The advance of property-tax receipts from Riverside County helps the IFPD’s cash-flow struggles until the property-tax revenue is distributed in December and January. This year, IFPD requested a $400,000 advance of tax revenue to help pay expenses until winter.
During the discussion of medical response efforts, which account for the vast majority of IFPD’s time, Battalion Chief Mark LaMont pointed out that nearly 60 percent of the medical calls overlap. This means that without two crews available, the department could not respond to both incidents.
LaMont is developing some new reports to help manage the workload.
Layton, as a member of the finance committee, said she and committee Chair Calvin Gogerty were still recruiting two new public members for the committee.
