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Council hears that ambulance revenue flows to general fund; chiefs urge setting aside funds for vehicle replacement
Summary
Fire and finance staff told the council ambulance and ground-transport revenues have grown but are rolled into the general fund and used across multiple funds; chiefs recommended establishing a reserve to replace ambulances and reduce future borrowing.
Fire department and finance staff told the council that ambulance and ground-transport revenues have increased in recent years but are currently treated as general fund revenue rather than being set aside for vehicle and equipment replacement.
Chief (fire) described trends in emergency medical transport receipts, saying the city is seeing growth in ambulance revenue that in prior budget years rose from about $1.6 million to a number staff presented as $1.8 million in the FY26 projection. Later in the discussion a staff member referenced a revenue figure of about $2.1 million for emergency transport operations for the current year; staff explained that accounting for these receipts is spread across multiple funds and that the apparent discrepancy depends on accrual and timing of payments.
Council members and fire leadership discussed the city's practice of using ambulance receipts in the general fund to support broad operations, then borrowing or bonding for vehicle purchases. Councilmember Seeley asked why some ambulance revenue is not reserved for ambulance replacements; chiefs and finance staff said the current accounting rolls revenue into the general fund and then distributes to operating costs and other programs. "You're running the ambulance service as a business, as far as I see it. That means there needs to be money set aside to replace those ambulances," a councilmember said during the exchange.
Fire staff and some council members proposed creating an internal reserve or a proprietary enterprise fund for ambulance operations so charges and capital replacement are transparent and self-contained; staff noted doing so would require accounting changes and discussion about allocating costs for dual-role personnel (firefighters who also staff ambulances). Staff said they will research options for establishing a replacement reserve or proprietary fund and discuss how much of current ambulance receipts can be set aside while maintaining other obligations, and will include that follow-up in the upcoming budget session.
