looking for answers

sdwhalen · Post by **sdwhalen** » Thu Jan 01, 2015 6:14 pm

Hey Everyone,
What is the Fire Dept's involvement in EMS responses ? All the FD's I have been involved with have evolved into an emergency response agency. Augmenting , if not outright replacing the EMS providers. The FD's that have the most success have First reponders,EMT's and Paramedics. These are all backed up by a transport unit . Getting volunteers, convincing said volunteer to take an EMS class, then pass the test from the flawed testing agency ....that's a lot. But if they do pass and want to help the community, then they should be compensated accordingly. Unfortunately as others have noted....it will all come down to money.

JFPowers · Post by **JFPowers** » Thu Jan 01, 2015 7:06 pm

I think people discuss it on the forum because as John Bolton said the taxpayer majority has no say and millages are often voted for by the minority many of whom have homestead exemptions. Therefore the forum is the one avenue they have to express their opinions. Beaver Island's local taxation pie is an extremely skewed situation due to the large amount of summer residents, compared to the smaller number of local residents who are exempt from many of the taxes they vote for.

I served here for over 15 years on numerous boards and have always tried to interject concern over the spending of taxpayer dollars here but it is very difficult to change anything when it comes to increased accountability of public funds. As an example of what may be a common theme, in one school millage election mailing, the flyer went to the point of advertising, "make sure you vote, most of these taxes are paid by non-residents"!!

If the year round residents here think that summer residents don't pay attention to the increases in taxes, to the highest tax rate per student in the state of Michigan, to the large amount of public dollars that go to the med center, the airport, the poorly kept roads, the ferry system, etc., you are sadly mistaken, John Bolton's comments echo the MAJORITY of summer residents who share these concerns as they affect the value of their investment, the likelihood of them ever being able to sell their properties and directly in their pocketbook.

In my opinion what this community needs more than anything is basically what John has alluded to; Fiscal oversight over all the public expenditures on the island. A thorough reboot of the system would likely free up dollars in some areas as excesses and shortfalls could be identified. As I said this would likely require independent, outside oversight. As Sean has pointed out, perhaps consolidation with other resources or as the video alluded to, outsourcing to increase the quality of service.

Campbell60tr34@aol.com · Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:22 pm

I think they call it " Living off someone else's dime. " Just my opinion.

John Bolton · Post by **John Bolton** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 1:56 pm

Jeff Powers has kind words, however, he is giving me more credit as a deep thinker than deserved.

Additionally, I may add, Jeff is a bit off base about the non local property owners being able to vote.
Unfortunately, they are voting...
they are voting with their feet.... Less people moving on island, less people buying land, less investment, less construction, less visitors, less business...
Yes, the voting has been going on.

It is the full time resident voting minority's stewardship of the island that has been the underlying ballot issue for a while now... the results are in... and the locals are losing.
I am still voting "Yea", hoping the island Stewards will be able to change course in time.

IMHO: I agree with others that an independent, transparent policy review could be quite helpful to insure proper resource allocation of what revenues are presently available, coupled with a long term plan to amend, wherever possible, present spend and tax policies to encourage long term island growth..

Trish Scott · Post by **Trish Scott** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 2:54 pm

A long term review and plan sound great....but what can be done before Mr. Moore retires as the island's paramedic?

John Bolton · Post by **John Bolton** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 3:27 pm

gosh, I don't know...
Perhaps, cut spending in other areas to allow for funds to be available for the needed EMT replacement(s) ?

My two favorite candidates....
: close Mosquito Park
: stop remodeling and/or expansion of current government buildings and sites.

I'm sure there are well thought out things which are on other people's lists.....

Now, your turn, what services, et al, would you be willing to cut back on in order to have two full time EMT persons?

I realize people wince at just having to have a mere discussion , let alone making any actual spending cuts.

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 3:42 pm

It is true that the primary essence of this original post is Mr. Moore's replacement but the divergent posts go to the heart of the issue. Mr. Moore gave a one year notice and now it is less than 60 days to March. If our leaders had a responsible fiscal plan in place and articulated it, this whole discussion would be a non issue. It's a shame that in January with March rapidly approaching, people are now just becoming concerned about the issue. There seems to be no plan or concern by our elected or appointed leaders. If there were, I would expect them to address and alleviate public concern with a response to this post on the Forum.

Kirk

Trish Scott · Post by **Trish Scott** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 10:50 pm

We have EMTs on call always. What we are losing is a paramedic.

Trish Scott · Post by **Trish Scott** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 10:51 pm

I trust those in charge to make tough decisions to fund top priorities. Having top notch medical care is paramount.

E. Naranjo · Post by **E. Naranjo** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 10:57 pm

How easy / hard would it be for our elected to call together a emergency meeting for all interested parties just for the purpose of discussing these issues?

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 11:30 pm

Trish -
You appear to be on top of the "heart" of the issue, albeit a little late, which we both agree is the immediate paramedic replacement. Please share with us your thoughts on when that person or person(s) will be in place and how the position(s) will be funded. Those are the immediate answers Pam is seeking as well as others of us. In the meantime, please do not assume I just fell off the turnip wagon.

Kirk

sbsp · Post by **sbsp** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 11:46 pm

Trish -
Thank you for editing your posts about me at 11:39 and 11:41, after reading my post to you at 11:30.

Kirk

pam moxham · Post by **pam moxham** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:28 am

trish , you wrote .........We have emts on call always. What we are losing is a paramedic......

In my original post I tried to be clear on what " losing a paramedic "means .

Please re read original post and you'll see it doesn't matter how many EMTs or MFRs ( Medical First Responders) we have if we don't have a medic.

pam

JFPowers · Post by **JFPowers** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 7:32 am

This was on the news last night, interesting to see how Emmet county approached the issue there. They dropped Allied for their own service.

http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.a ... KkroCvF_rB

http://www.emmetcounty.org/uploads/2014 ... rt_Web.pdf

Time is of the essence but they looked at changing a whole counties approach to EMS and they did it. We should be able to solve ours with time and effort by our elected officials

A thorough analysis needs to be done here.

sdwhalen · Post by **sdwhalen** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:43 am

When someone dials 911 on the island, where does that call go ? Does it go to a central dispatch in Charlevoix ?
Here is why I ask. To understand the needs of the BI residents, one would have to analyze the calls and call volume, decide what skills are needed and make a decision as to what the island needs. This is just a sampling of the past and does not unfortunately predict future needs. Preferably the island would have MFR's, EMT's and a couple of Paramedics. Paramedics are usually the only level that can administer drugs.
Has the FD or the townships explored grants. Been told that grants are given out to those most in need, and rural or difficult to reach areas tend to do well . Cant verify that .
I will tell you this , one call involving CPR takes at least (3) qualified and competent people. If you cant assemble that many, (1) Paramedic will have marginal effect.