On two of the four ballot proposals for the Oxford Fire Department, we are advocating YES votes.
The first is a no-brainer. Oxford voters are being asked to approve a five-year, 1.5-mill tax for fire operations and EMS services.
It’s basically a renewal of the current operating millage that’s set to expire with the December 2005 levy plus a slight increase (about 0.2 mill) to cover increased costs such as health insurance, fuel, oxygen for EMS, etc.
This millage will pay for the same level of service residents currently receive ? no more, no less.
To vote ‘no? would deny the fire department the basic funding it needs to save lives and protect property. We see no reason for that.
So, on the 1.5-mill fire operating tax proposal we advise residents to vote YES.
In addition to its operating millage, the fire department is asking residents to approve a five-year, 1-mill increase to finance the creation and operation of its own 24-7 Advanced Life Support (ALS) service.
Currently, Oxford residents receive ALS from a private ambulance company ? American Medical Response. Unfortunately, this company’s response times in Oxford have averaged between 16 and 18 minutes, according to Fire Chief Jack LeRoy.
In a few critical cases last year, AMR’s response time was between 20 and 30 minutes. Sometimes an AMR ambulance isn’t even available for this area.
This is wholly unacceptable given that every minute in a serious medical emergency, such as a heart attack or stroke, can literally mean the difference between life and death.
Add to this, the very real possibility that American Medical Response could one day decide to stop providing service to Oxford because it’s no longer cost effective given non-emergency transports are its profit-makers and almost all of the surrounding communities now provide their own ALS.
Private companies are ultimately driven by profits and the bottom-line. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just a reality.
As we look around us, we see that many of our neighboring communities have seen the advantages and wisdom of providing their own ALS services.
Fire departments in Addison, Brandon, Oakland and Independence townships all provide ALS to their residents. Fire departments providing ALS is no longer a luxury, it’s the standard, the norm.
With Oxford providing its own 24-7 ALS service, residents can be assured response times will average between four and six minutes, the kind of care provided in hospital emergency rooms will be immediately available to patients at the scene and there will be no delays in hospital transports.
Getting all that for 1-mill more a year sounds like a good deal to us. We urge residents to vote YES on the ALS millage. ? CJC