“People will die” if paramedics cut, sheriff warns Linn County supervisors

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner warned county supervisors today “people will die” if his department's rescue service falls to budget cuts.

“This is a program that is essential to keep people safe,” Gardner told supervisors at this morning's formal session.

Under the “budgeting for outcomes” approach adopted this year, supervisors instructed department heads to cut their spending by 1.5 percent for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Ideas for additional spending are then presented as “offers” for supervisors' consideration; they have about $1.8 million for such discretionary spending.

On Tuesday, supervisors turned down Gardner's request for $299,000 to fund the rescue division, the only such full-time service for much of the county.

“I meant every word of it,” Gardner said this afternoon. ”We know for a fact that the techniques they provide do save lives.”

The rescue division's three deputies are certified paramedic specialists, trained in more advanced emergency medical procedures than volunteers who staff rural ambulance services.

The county crew responded to 3,311 emergency calls in the year ending last July 1. Most were “general medical” calls, with another 588 listed as trauma cases, 197 cardiac cases, and 243 ambulance runs.

Supervisors' votes during budget review are by voice, so no official tally is taken. Supervisor Ben Rogers said his seven years' service as a Mount Vernon volunteer firefighter convinced him to vote for Gardner's offer.

“I'm disappointed the others didn't see the importance of it,” said Rogers, a Cedar Rapids Democrat.

But Supervisor Brent Oleson, who confirmed he voted against rescue funding, said Gardner “gamed the system” in his budget proposal, holding a vital service from his basic budget to protect jobs that might otherwise be vulnerable.

“He took all that off the table, so he didn't really give us any choice,” said Oleson, a Marion Republican.

But Gardner said the rescue division, which dates to 1975, is one of his department's few functions that isn't mandated by state law.

“I made sure I didn't include anything that was required for us to provide according to the code,” he said.

Gardner said he also didn't propose to cut functions that bring revenue to the county – clerks who collect fees and fines, for example.

“When the board is trying to hold the line, the last thing they wanted me to do was to do away with a position that brings in revenue,” he said.

With his department already short four positions, Gardner said the three paramedics will shift to other jobs within the department. He said Training Officer Chris Smaby may lose his job as a result of the supervisors' rejection of an $86,000 offer to retain his training position.

Oleson said Gardner could adjust his budget, roughly $16 million, on his own once the fiscal year starts to protect the rescue division. The board is scheduled to finalize the proposed budget next week, with a public hearing in mid-March.

“I'm going to fight as hard as I can to retain these positions,” Gardner said.