Presented in his absence by Martin Green, Commission Aide

First of all, let me thank the Emergency Medical Personnel who are here today for all the hard work you have done since this issue was brought to the forefront a couple of months ago.

Let me also express my personal gratitude for all the hard work you do for us -- the citizens of Leon County -- each and every day to make our lives better and to provide us with the high quality of life we enjoy in this community. I regret that I cannot, due to scheduling conflicts, be with you in person today. I have asked my commission aide, Martin Green, to share with you my thoughts on this issue at this critically important point in time.

The EMS Advisory Council was directed by the Board of County Commissioners on October 22, 2002, to return to the commission by November 30th of this year with recommendations on how to fund ongoing ambulance services in Leon County.

The Council's recommendations to issue a Request for Proposals for the provision of ground ambulance service in Tallahassee/Leon County, and the further statement by the Council that they are satisfied with the status quo operation of emergency medical services, is non-responsive to the direction given by the commission on October 22.

In my opinion, it is the clear intent of the County Commission to develop a high caliber public EMS system in our county. In order to offer that high quality of service our citizens deserve, it will require a substantial investment of dollars from local government.

I regret that at this point in time that there does not appear to be a willingness on the part of city government to partner with the county to ensure that ambulance services not only continue -- but are expanded -- to meet the real time needs of our growing population. Nevertheless, it is clear to me that the county has a moral, if not a legal, obligation to protect the health, safety and well-being of its citizens through the provision of a well-run and adequately staffed emergency medical services program.

We should embrace all willing partners in this effort, but not once should we shirk from our ultimate responsibility to see to it that the service is continued. I am alarmed, as all of us should be, that we may lose -- indeed have already lost -- trusted, trained and valued paramedics to other communities as the politicians on the 5th floor deliberate and ponder on just what it is to be done.

The County Commission= s November 26 EMS Workshop agenda material articulates a recommendation that states in effect: "Let's figure our how we can get out of this situation in the cheapest way possible."

The issuance of an RFP for private ambulance providers to respond to -- at this point in time -- with no effort to identify either the levels of EMS service we should be providing our citizens, or the operational funding source, or even to quantify the amount of funds needed to operate a smooth and efficient EMS system, is counter productive and not in the best interests of our citizens.

Quite frankly, I am astonished that there has been no effort made by the Council to inform the county commission of comparable levels of EMS services in other Florida counties. I believe that other Florida counties, some smaller in size than Leon, have adequate manpower, vehicles and equipment to successfully operate their EMS programs. I say: "It's time to stop shortchanging our citizens and provide them with the quality emergency medical care services they deserve.

We are grateful to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital who have historically provided emergency medical services to our community. But I believe that we can and must do better. I believe that there are higher Levels of EMS Service for manpower, vehicles and equipment in other smaller counties.

And I intend to insist that this comparable information be provided to us and our citizens before any major service delivery options are determined by the county commission.

 Thank you again for your hard work on behalf of all of us and thank you for taking your time to continue to keep this critically important issue on the front burner.