Fire chief flags REMSA agreement concerns; Board told reconsideration is an option

Chief Edwards told the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District board that stakeholder workshops following the REMSA franchise agreement vote uncovered a set of concerns the district wants addressed before the agreement is treated as final.

Edwards listed three priorities the district raised at workshops convened by the District Board of Health: restoring joint advisory-committee language to the agreement; ensuring the closest ambulance, regardless of agency, is dispatched to priority-1 and priority-2 incidents; and adding performance metrics for priority-2 calls, which can be life threatening but are not currently covered by specific performance standards.

Edwards said two workshop meetings were held and that a deputy district attorney outlined two possible paths for the district: continue the stakeholder negotiation process (with the goal of amending future agreements) or pursue reconsideration and a revote on the agreement. "One was we could continue this process ... and we can make notes on them and come back and try to negotiate those into an amendment to the current agreement or into future agreements. Or she provided a second option ... which would be a vote for reconsideration, to revote on the agreement," Edwards said.

Edwards emphasized that any changes would require REMSA's agreement to amend the contract. Board members praised the stakeholder process and noted the need to get changes right the first time; one commissioner said she had listened to nearly two hours of a prior meeting to understand the issues. The chief said the District Board of Health would take the compiled items forward into negotiations with REMSA.

The discussion produced no formal vote on the agreement at this meeting; Edwards asked the board to remain engaged as negotiations continue and staff work with the District Board of Health and REMSA representatives.