Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency $Services FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency$ Services Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services This publication was produced under contract EME-98-SA-0431 for the United States Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Any information, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the United States Fire Administration. i $Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The United States Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency, would like to thank the many fire departments, emergency medical services agencies and individuals who kindly shared their experience and knowledge on alternative funding sources. Some of these individuals are cited as contacts for additional information in the text while other preferred to remain anonymous. ii Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency$ Services TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1-1 THE IMPLICATIONS OF FUNDING CHOICES 1-2 ABOUT THIS MANUAL 1-2 Major Local Government Funding Mechanisms 1-2 Federal and State Programs 1-4 Private Sector Sources 1-5 Miscellaneous Fundraising Ideas 1-5 Other Important Information 1-5 ORGANIZATION OF THE MANUAL 1-6 SCOPE 1-6 SOURCES USED 1-7 SUMMARY 1-7 CHAPTER TWO LOCAL SOURCES FOR FIRE AND EMS FUNDING 2-1 TAXES 2-1 Local Property Taxes 2-1 Local Sales Taxes 2-1 Real Estate Transfer Taxes 2-3 Special Taxes 2-3 Fire Flow Tax 2-3 BENEFIT ASSESSMENTS 2-4 BORROWING 2-9 Bonds 2-9 Certificates of Participation 2-9 Traditional Borrowing 2-10 FEES FOR PREVENTION-RELATED SOURCES 2-10 Inspection Fees 2-11 Plan Review Fees and Permits 2-13 FEES FOR SUPPRESSION, EMS, AND SPECIAL SERVICES 2-13 Fire Suppression and Rescue Fees 2-13 Standby and Fireguard Fees 2-15 Hazardous Materials Fees 2-16 Special Services 2-16 Training Fees 2-18 Emergency Medical Fees and Charges 2-19 SUBSCRIPTION FEES 2-28 Fire Protection Subscription Programs 2-28 Medicare and Medicaid and EMS Billing 2-29 EMS Subscription Programs 2-31 DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES 2-34 FINES AND CITATIONS 2-34 Citations 2-34 Court Fines for Code Violation 2-35 Penalties for Nuisance Alarms 2-35 Seat Belt Fines 2-37 COST SHARING 2-37 STRATEGIC ALLIANCES 2-38 CONSOLIDATION 2-39 iii $Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services SALES OF ASSETS AND SERVICES 2-41 Sales of Used Equipment 2-41 Sales of Services 2-41 Sale of Delinquent Tax Certificates 2-42 Facility Rental 2-43 OTHER APPROACHES 2-43 Phone Surcharges for 911 2-43 Leasing 2-44 Seized Assets 2-44 CHAPTER THREE STATE GOVERNMENT SOURCES FOR FIRE AND EMS 3-1 LOW INTEREST LOANS 3-1 INSURANCE SURCHARGE 3-1 DRIVING RELATED FEES AND FINES 3-2 Vehicle Registration Status 3-2 Traffic Citations Surcharge 3-3 SURPLUS VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT 3-4 SPECIAL PURPOSE GRANTS 3-4 MATCHING GRANTS 3-5 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 3-5 SUBSIDIZED TRAINING 3-5 OTHER AGENCIES TO CONTACT 3-6 STATE-BY-STATE FUNDING SOURCES FOR EMS 3-6 STATE FUNDING SOURCES-FIRE/RESCUE SERVICES 3-19 CHAPTER FOUR FEDERALGOVERNMENT SOURCES FOR FIRE AND EMS FUNDING 4-1 CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE 4-1 GUIDE TO FEDERAL RESOURCES FOR EMERGENCY SERVICE DEPARTMENTS 4-2 RURAL COMUNITY FIRE PROTECTION (RCFP) 4-3 FEDERAL EXCESS PROPERTY PROGRAM 4-3 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS 4-3 MILITARY BASE AND FEDERAL INSTALLATION AGREEMENTS 4-4 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY-LOCAL GOVERNMENTS REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM 4-4 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 4-5 Hazardous Materials Uniform Safety Act 4-5 EMS-Related Funds 4-5 FEDERAL PROPERTY REIMBURSEMENT AGREEMENT 4-5 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 4-5 Farmer’s Home Administration Loans 4-5 Community Facilities Program 4-5 FEDERAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 4-8 CRIME-RELATED GRANTS 4-8 iv Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency$ Services CHAPTER FIVE DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE GRANT PROPOSALS 5-1 INITIAL PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT 5-1 Developing Ideas for the Proposal 5-1 Community Support 5-1 Identification of a Funding Resource 5-2 Getting Organized to Write the Proposal 5-2 REVIEW 5-2 Criticism 5-2 Signature 5-3 Neatness 5-3 Mailing 5-3 WRITING THE GRANT PROPOSAL 5-3 The Basic Components of a Proposal 5-3 The Proposal Summary: Outline of Project Goals 5-3 Introduction: Presenting a Credible Applicant or Organization 5-4 The Problem Statement: Stating the Purpose at Hand 5-4 Project Objectives: Goals and Desired Outcomes 5-5 Program Methods and Program Design: A Plan of Action 5-5 Evaluations: Product and Process Analysis 5-6 Future Funding: Long-Term Project Planning 5-6 The Proposal Budget: Planning the Budget 5-7 INTERACTION AND NETWORKING 5-7 State Fire and EMS Offices 5-8 Other Associated Organizations 5-8 Influencing Public Officials/Decision Makers 5-9 CHAPTER SIX PRIVATE SOURCES FOR FUNDING 6-1 FOUNDATIONS 6-1 Large Foundations 6-1 Local Foundations/Community Service Clubs 6-2 CORPORATE DONATIONS 6-10 Cash Donations 6-10 In-Kind Services and Equipment 6-11 PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS 6-12 Co-Development 6-12 Shared Resources 6-12 Shared R&D 6-13 Private/Public Fire Protection Cost Tradeoffs 6-13 CHAPTER SEVEN MISCELLANEOUS FUNDRAISING IDEAS 7-1 OVERVIEW OF APPROACHES 7-1 WATER METER CHARGES 7-2 DIRECT MAIL 7-3 CASINO NIGHTS 7-5 COMMUNITY TRAINING AND EDUCATION 7-6 SPECIAL EVENTS 7-6 SALES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 7-8 HONORARY MEMBERSHIPS 7-9 v $Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services RAFFLES 7-10 OTHER MISCELLANEOUS SOURCES 7-10 Movie Production 7-10 Advertising 7-11 CHAPTER EIGHT MANAGED CARE FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES 8-1 BACKGROUND 8-1 WHAT IS MANAGED CARE? 8-1 Gatekeepers 8-1 Types of Managed Care Plans 8-2 EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AND MANAGED CARE ORGANIZATIONS 8-3 Capitation Versus Fee-For-Service 8-3 Advantages and Disadvantages 8-3 Preparing for Managed Care Contracting 8-4 EMS Provider Networks 8-4 HOW WILL MANAGED CARE CHANGE EMS? 8-5 Opinions on Managed Care and EMS 8-5 CONCLUSION 8-5 RESOURCES 8-6 CHAPTER NINE SUMMARY AND OBSERVATIONS 9-1 CAREER DEPARTMENTS 9-1 VOLUNTEER DEPARTMENTS 9-2 OVERALL OBSERVATIONS 9-2 AN APPEAL TO READERS 9-4 APPENDIX A PARTIAL LIST OF FEDERAL FUNDING SOURCES RELATED TO EMS A-1 BIBLIOGRAPHY SOURCES FOR INFORMATION B-1 vi Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services CHAPTER ONE $ INTRODUCTION Stimulated by local budget pressures, fire and for rescues where the victim disobeyed public warnings, emergency medical service departments in the United such as getting caught in flash flood areas or violating States are using a wide array of fundraising approaches water safety precautions. beyond traditional methods. Some fire departments are charging for fire sup- These funding alternatives range from small fees pression, knowing that household insurance policies will for special services to major new sources of funds such often cover up to a few hundred or a few thousand dol- as benefit assessments, which pay for as much as 40 per- lars for fees associated with fire protection. And some cent of the budget for some fire departments. The alter- fire departments are simply charging for everything, ei- natives include impact development fees, in which pri- ther through a subscription fee or a charge for each ser- vate developers pay for virtually all new fire stations and vice. their associated apparatus and equipment, and subscrip- tion charges, in which households pay a flat rate and then A key part of new fire and EMS department fund- are absolved from any further payments associated with ing strategies is the approach to emergency medical inci- emergency medical services beyond those covered by their dents, which often comprise two-thirds to three-quarters medical insurance. of responses in many fire departments. What was once a free service now often has charges for transport to the Fees for fire prevention services are being used hospital, and, increasingly, charges for providing medi- to pay much of the cost of fire prevention, a part of fire cal care even without transport. department budgets that often receives little public sup- port and has been hard to fund adequately. The structure EMS is a major role of the fire service, and is of fees for prevention also can play a significant role in increasing in sophistication and scope. The cost of EMS, shaping prevention strategies. To motivate safe behav- and who pays for them, are (or should be) tied to the na- iors and achieve better compliance with codes, depart- tional public health care cost debate. As has finally been ments are using a variety of fees and citations for repeat accepted for many other types of emergencies, the fire inspections, false alarms, and code violations. service and independent EMS agencies are usually the first responders to acute medical problems and play a sig- Some fire departments are defining the basic ser- nificant role in influencing how many people are intro- vices covered by taxes to include only a small house fire, duced into the health care system, and in what condition. and charge for “additional services” such as dealing with emergency medical service responses, hazardous materi- als incidents, extinguishing larger fires, standing by at events, pumping flooded basements, and providing other technical services. Some fire departments are charging 1-1 $Funding Alternatives for Fire and Emergency Services THE IMPLICATIONS OF FUNDING CHOICES and EMS agencies throughout the nation, and their pros and cons. The report includes financing alternatives for Each agency providing fire-related or emergency all types of fire and EMS departments - rural and urban, medical services must consider the range of opportuni- volunteer and career, agencies providing multiple services ties and the local and state constraints in shaping its fund- and those providing only fire protection or only emer- ing policy and determining its budget.