Council raises Kalispell ambulance fees

The Kalispell City Council on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution to raise emergency medical service fees for ambulance patients.

Emergency services such as Advanced Life Support 1 and Basic Life Support increased about $200 each for Kalispell residents. For nonresidents, the cost of these services jumped from $700 to $1,163.54 for Basic Life Support and from $880 to $1,323 for Advanced Life Support 1.

Kalispell Fire Chief Dave Dedman said the additional fees will help his department meet the costs incurred by the fire department, which provides ambulance services.

“One thing people don’t remember is that we’re staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” Dedman said. “Our costs continue to roll when others close their business for the day.”

The increase was met with full support from the council, but one Kalispell resident suggested the fees should not be raised so high.

“I haven’t kept up with the ambulance issue but it’s been irritating,” Richard Hull said. “Ambulance calls are extremely expensive. You need to think a little more about the public than make this into a business decision.”

Council member Phil Guiffrida responded by calling the ambulance fund a “heartburn” for drawing from the general fund to fund the department. He said he was in full support of the increase and said he hoped the ambulance service eventually could become an enterprise fund that would not rely on tax money.

“Everyone on this council appreciates the work that our EMS does,” Guiffrida said. “At this point we have to decide what to do. This is the answer. It does allow EMS to put money away for and maybe one day become an enterprise fund.”

Mayor Mark Johnson echoed Guiffrida’s comments, adding that people who use city emergency services should pay for them, noting that nonresidents previously paid the same as residents for responders to travel farther to provide medical assistance.

“This is where we need to be with our ambulance and fire services,” Johnson said.

The higher fees take effect immediately.

IN OTHER BUSINESS, the city passed a resolution to issue $35 million in revenue bonds to Immanuel Lutheran Corp.

The assisted living developers will use the bonds to refinance their current debt and begin a handful of capital improvement projects on their Buffalo Hill campus.

Benjamin Johnson, a partner at the Barns & Thornburg law office in Minneapolis, was at Tuesday’s meeting to define what issuing these bonds would mean for the city.

“The city is lending its name only,” he said. “There will be purely an obligation of Immanuel Lutheran. If there are any problems, there is no way for the lender, which is a bank that understands what they are buying, to ask for any funds from the city or its residents.”

Immanuel Lutheran Chief Executive Officer Jason Cronk was also in attendance. He said the money would be used to upgrade nursing-home beds and continue to build an assisted living ward.

“It’s an unfortunate need we have in our community,” Cronk said. “This is our first phase and we’re excited about getting started.”

The resolution passed unanimously.

Next week’s city council work session is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday at City Hall, 201 First Ave. E.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.