Riverview examines police recruitment, fire turnout-gear mandate and EMS billing revenue

City public-safety leaders briefed the council on near-term staffing, equipment and revenue matters affecting police, fire and EMS.

The discussion matters because staffing and equipment purchases affect public-safety capacity, and EMS billing policy and collections directly affect general-fund revenue.

Police: Police leadership described active recruitment and academy training plans. John (identified in the workshop as the police chief) said, “We have 1 start in the police academy in May. He'll graduate September, hopefully. … We're hoping to send another person to the academy in July.” Chief John said the department plans to use a state retention/recruitment grant to sponsor at least one academy seat and noted there are hiring challenges across jurisdictions; the grant will likely cover at least one academy seat and the city will follow grant terms regarding any payback if hires leave early.

Fire: Fire leadership and administration discussed turnout gear mandated by national/state guidance and an expired replacement cycle. The fire chief explained the mandate and the health rationale: the department has “19 sets of 7 and 8 year old gear” and the gear must be replaced within 10 years; the chief said prior state grant cycles had supplied second sets in previous years but that an opportunity to replace or supplement gear depends on available grant rounds. Finance staff and the chief discussed financing options and concluded purchasing the required gear outright was preferable to a five‑year lease because of financing costs; the presenter said, “we're gonna put it in the capital improvement and just purchase it straight out.” The chief also said he has an active grant application that, if awarded, could supply full replacement and a second set of gear and allow the city to stagger expiration dates.

EMS and ambulance billing: EMS leadership reported the city bills roughly $800,000 annually for ambulance services and said billing operations and quality control have been tightened to reduce rejected claims. The chief explained the city improved quality control and saw previously missed billings corrected. On reimbursement policy, staff described a recent state-level legislative change intended to subsidize Medicaid payments for EMS runs up to an estimated national average cost per run. Staff said that change could yield “a potential for a couple extra $100,000 in revenue” (high-end estimate about $200,000–$250,000) if run volumes and payer mixes remain stable; staff asked the council to treat that as hopeful revenue contingent on the state's implementation and retroactivity.

Opioid settlement / AED discussion: The chief and council discussed potential uses of opioid-settlement funds. The chief said he had explored purchasing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for public buildings and parks, describing newer AED models at roughly $2,300 each with longer battery and pad lifespans and Bluetooth status reporting. The chief said Wayne County staff and a county board contact were receptive to a packaged proposal (training, supplies and device deployment) to present for opioid-settlement funding, but county officials gave priority to treatment and rehabilitation uses; no final allocation decision was made at the workshop.

Staff framed most items as planned actions or grant-seeking steps rather than completed decisions. The council received the updates and asked for follow-up information on schedules, grant outcomes and capital funding sources.