The purchase is one of several initiatives included in the city’s 2017-18 spending plan to address public safety.
The monitors come with AutoPulse mechanical chest compression capabilities, which will provide people with the best possible cardiopulmonary resuscitation as demonstrated in clinical trials, said Fire Chief Jeff Frazier.
The devices will continue to provide chest compressions to people while in transport to the hospital.
“This device essentially encircles the chest of the patient in cardiac arrest and provides those compressions in a manner most suitable for that patient,” he said.
City Manager N. Enrique Martinez negotiated with Zoll Medical Corp. to allow the city to make two payments using funds from both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 budgets, with no interest charges, according to a city staff report on the matter.
The city will make an initial payment of $175,000 followed by another $79,968 on July 1, 2018. The city also will receive a $21,495 credit with the company to be used for future purchases.
“I can tell you the entire department appreciates (Martinez’s) support on this item,” Frazier said. “Once again he demonstrated his considerable negotiation prowess by facilitating payment over two years with no interest payments. In addition he pressed the vendor to provide a credit equal to the sales tax that will provide for ongoing supplies.”
Mayor Paul Foster thanked staff for securing an automated external defibrillator for the council chambers, which he requested during a previous budget discussion, and asked that staff in the City Clerk’s Office be trained to use the equipment.
The budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 also called for renewing the city’s contracts with two regional agencies that assist the Fire Department.
The first is the reimbursement agreement with Cal Fire for wildland protection services, which provides supplemental wildland fire protection such as hand crews, helicopters, aircraft retardant drops and unified command of the incident, according to a city staff report on the matter.
The agreement will cost the city about $88,908, an increase of 11.3 percent over the previous year, Frazier said.
“While this is a significant investment, recent fires impacting Redlands resulted in significant costs, which would have impacted our budget,” Frazier said.
For example, Frazier said, suppression costs for two fires in 2010 were a combined $125,000, while two fires in 2015 cost $314,000.
“This is the biggest bargain the city gets,” said Councilwoman Pat Gilbreath.
Additionally, the council voted to renew the city’s membership with CONFIRE Joint Powers Authority for communications and dispatch services.
The $635,000 contract is an increase over last year’s by 6.1 percent, which Frazier said is due to an increase in dispatch costs associated with a 2.9 percent increase in the number of emergency responses and increased spending to strengthen the computer network in the face of growing security threats.
Meanwhile, in addition to gaining two officers, the Police Department will purchase six new Ford Interceptor Utility patrol units for nearly $180,000, which will replace the existing Crown Victoria patrol vehicles, said police Chief Mark Garcia.
“This is a great accomplishment in my mind on the city’s behalf to move this forward and get the officers in good running, safe vehicles,” Garcia said.
Mayor Pro Tem Paul Barich complimented the department on the deal, which was negotiated by Operations Manager Shayna Walker, Garcia said.
“That comes out to about $30,000 a vehicle, which is a heck of a good deal for the citizens of Redlands,” Barich said.
———
©2017 the Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, Calif.)
Visit the Redlands Daily Facts (Redlands, Calif.) at www.redlandsdailyfacts.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
