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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEmergency Services Agreement 2015 draft 1-26-15.docxEmergency Services Operational Agreement This Agreement is made and entered into this ____ day of _________, 2015, between the City of Rexburg, Madison County Fire Protection District and Madison County Ambulance District. WHEREAS, the City of Rexburg, Idaho (the "City"), is a municipal corporation duly organized and existing as a municipal corporation under the general laws of the State of Idaho; and WHEREAS, Madison County Ambulance District (the “Ambulance") is a duly created ambulance service district created pursuant to all applicable laws of Idaho, to serve the needs of the geographical area known as Madison County, Idaho; and WHEREAS, Madison County Fire Protection District (the "Fire") is a duly created fire protection district created pursuant to all applicable state laws of Idaho, to serve the needs of the geographical area known as Madison County, Idaho, excluding the corporate limits of the City of Rexburg; and WHEREAS, the parties hereto have determined it to be in their mutual best interest to combine the emergency services which were previously separately administered by Ambulance, City and Fire, and to operate, and where applicable, purchase equipment for a jointly owned facility and operation dedicated to providing emergency services for Madison County and the City of Rexburg (the “Emergency Services Facility”). The parties hereto have determined ambulance and fire services (collectively referred to herein as “Emergency Services”) may be provided more efficiently and economically by combining the parties’ resources and skills. WHEREAS, an Emergency Services Board (the “Board”) shall be created that consists of one elected official from each of the parties hereto named above and a Medical Director who shall be appointed by the Board. The Board will be responsible to administer and monitor the operations of the emergency services within Madison County. A chair of the Board shall be elected by the other Board Members during the first meeting of each year. NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MUTUALLY AGREED AS FOLLOWS: 1. TERM The term of this Agreement shall be perpetual, unless terminated pursuant to the provisions contained herein. 2. ANCILLARY AGREEMENTS The Amended Joint Use, Ownership and Operation Agreement for Fire Protection, which was originally entered into on July l, 1992 between the City of Rexburg and the Madison County Fire Protection District shall remain in effect. The only changes to that agreement will be those specifically addressed in this Agreement to accommodate the addition of emergency medical services. 3. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES (a) The City and Fire will maintain control and be responsible for costs determined to be for fire suppression, which will include, but are not limited to the purchasing of firefighting equipment.. (b) The Ambulance will maintain control and be responsible for costs determined to be for emergency medical services (EMS), which include, but are not limited to, the purchasing of EMS equipment.. (c) Ambulance shall be responsible for one-third (l/3) of Shared Costs, with Fire and City being responsible for the other two-thirds (2/3) of Shared Costs (City and Fire will continue to allocate their respective costs in accordance with the Joint Use, Ownership and Operation Agreement for Fire Protection). Shared Costs shall include, but are not limited to the following budget items: i. Heat and lights and Water/Sewer/Garbage ii. Building repairs and Labor for Maintenance iii. Building supplies iv. Insurance for building(s) v. Capital purchase items as approved by all parties. (d) The following items are costs which shall not be considered to be Shared Costs. i. Cost of general liability/errors and omissions insurance coverage and vehicle insurance coverage. ii. All overtime runs for Fire, EMS and reimbursed paid call time shall be recorded and paid for by the responsible entity. iii. Any other expense as may from time to time be agreed to by all parties. (e) The City of Rexburg as employer of the employees assigned to provide services pursuant to Section 4 of this Agreement will be responsible for the employment costs with respect to those employees. However, Ambulance shall reimburse City for one-half (1/2) of those employment costs , and Fire shall reimburse City for its share of the remaining one­ half (1/2) of those employment costs, based on the allocation in the Joint Use, Ownership and Operation Agreement for Fire Protection. (f) One Chief Executive Officer (the "CEO or Chief") will be appointed over all operations of Emergency Services. In the event a unanimous decision regarding appointment of the Chief cannot be reached by the parties to this Agreement, the administration and operations will remain "as is." If no Chief is in place, an "Acting Chief'' shall be named by majority for a six-month term or until a unanimous decision is made. A Division Chief(s) will be appointed over EMS and Fire operations respectively. The Chief(s) positions will be appointed from among the employees provided by the City. 4. Employment The Chief shall notify the City of Emergency Services staffing needs. The City shall designate and assign City employees to meet those staffing needs and perform services under the terms of this Agreement. The City is responsible to provide qualified employees to perform the services. At all times, City employees assigned to Emergency Services shall remain City employees. The City may solicit input as to performance, but all employment and assignment decisions shall be made by the City. The City is responsible for payment of all wages, benefits and payroll associated taxes with respect to City employees assigned to provide services under this Agreement. All City employees providing services under the terms of this Agreement will abide by the policies contained in the City of Rexburg Employee Hand Book. The City is responsible for compliance with all employment laws, all wage and hour laws, all recruiting and hiring efforts, and all personnel documentation and files. 5. Accounting and Reimbursement The City shall be responsible for the accounting of shared expenses and providing the Ambulance and Fire with documentation of all expenses. The Ambulance and Fire shall each reimburse the City for their proportionate share of undisputed costs, accounting and administration expenses within thirty (30) days of receiving the accounting and demand for payment. 6. Budgeting Madison County Commissioners on behalf of the Ambulance, Madison County Fire Commissioners on behalf of the Fire, and the Rexburg City officials on behalf of the City, shall meet in a timely fashion to accomplish the necessary calculations for their respective budgeting processes. The scheduling of such meetings shall be the responsibility of the City in its capacity as financial administrator. This meeting shall be attended by the Chief of Emergency Services, who shall have the responsibility of having compiled the necessary information to allow the parties to this Agreement to discuss the budgetary needs and demands each shall be requested to address. 7. Policy & Procedure Writing Policies and Procedures for Emergency Services which will affect the operations of all three entities must be unanimously agreed upon with each party to this Agreement each being given one vote. No change in the joint use portion of the facility, or agreement, affecting the joint use portion of the facility can be made without the consent of all three parties to this Agreement. Each entity must follow its own rules and regulations relative to deciding whether to vote for any given proposal. Establishment of policies and procedures relating solely to personnel, such as maintenance of employment records, and disciplinary policies, shall be the sole responsibility of the City. 8. Facility/Asset Ownership The Emergency Services Facility and all related assets and equipment shall be considered to be owned jointly by all parties to this Agreement in equal one third (1/3) shares. 9. Termination (a) By Notice. In the event any party to this Agreement desires to terminate or withdraw from this Agreement, that party shall give written notice to the other two parties at least five (5) years in advance. At the end of the five (5) year period, an appraisal of all joint assets, both real and personal will be made, and where applicable distributed to the entity for which such property is best suited. The party withdrawing from the agreement must relocate their operation, if applicable, and the remaining two organizations will be allowed to purchase back the withdrawing party’s interest over a ten year period of time, with interest at a rate equal to prime being charged on all outstanding amounts owed. (b) By Non-appropriation. If the necessary funds for the continuance of its obligations pursuant to this Agreement are not appropriated by any party to this Agreement, and said party fails to comply with its obligations under this Agreement for any fiscal year, then the other parties included in this Agreement shall have no right of action against the party failing to appropriate funds, but shall immediately become equal partners in the Emergency Services Facility and all related assets and equipment , and shall have no obligation to compensate the withdrawing party in any way for its share, any value having accrued to the withdrawing party being considered to be costs reasonably associated with the withdrawal, and reasonable damages to the remaining parties to this Agreement. In the event any party to this Agreement fails to budget the necessary funds for compliance with this Agreement, the same agrees to immediately notify the other parties and shall take whatever steps are necessary to transfer any interest it may have to the remaining parties. 10. Notices Unless otherwise specifically provided herein, any and all notices required or permitted under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed delivered upon personal delivery or three (3) days after mailing thereof when properly addressed and deposited in the United States Mail, first-class postage prepaid. Notices shall be properly addressed if addressed to the parties as follows: If to City of Rexburg: City of Rexburg P.O. Box 280 Rexburg, Idaho 83440 If to Fire District: Madison Fire District P.O. Box 280 Rexburg, Idaho 83440 If to Ambulance: Madison Ambulance P.O. Box 350 Rexburg, Idaho 83440 The addresses for notices to any party may be changed by written notice given to the other parties as provided above. 11. Further Acts Each party to this Agreement agrees to execute and deliver all documents and instruments and to perform all further acts and to take any and all further steps that may be reasonably necessary to carry out the provisions of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated herein. 12. Section Headings The section headings in this Agreement are for convenience and reference only and shall in no way define, limit, extend or interpret the scope of this Agreement or of any particular section contained herein. 13. Interpretations Unless the context requires otherwise, words used in the singular number shall include the plural and vice-versa; words used in the masculine shall include the feminine and vice-verse. 14. Amendments and Waivers This Agreement shall be modified only by written instrument executed by the parties hereto. The failure of any party, in any one or more instances, to insist upon strict performance of any of the provisions of this Agreement or to exercise any rights herein conferred shall not be construed as a waiver or relinquishment to any extent of such party’s right to assert or rely upon such terms or rights in any other instances. Any waiver of any provision of this Agreement shall be made only in writing executed by the party who could demand fulfillment of such waived provision. 15. Successors and Assigns This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective heirs, personal representatives, successors and assigns. 16. Governing Law This Agreement shall be construed under and in accordance with the laws of the State of Idaho. 17. Counterparts This Agreement and all amendments and supplements to it may be executed in counterparts and all such counterparts shall constitute one agreement binding on all of the parties. 18. Severability Should one or more of the provisions of this Agreement be determined to be illegal or unenforceable, the other provisions nonetheless shall remain in full force and effect. The illegal or unenforceable provision or provisions shall be deemed amended to conform to applicable laws so as to be valid and enforceable, if such an amendment would not materially alter the intention of the parties. 19. Entire Agreement This Agreement (together with any attached Exhibits) constitutes the entire agreement between the parties concerning the subject matter of this Agreement, and supersedes all prior agreements, arrangements, understandings, restrictions, representations or warranties, whether oral or written, between the parties relating to the subject matter of this Agreement. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the day and year first written above. ____________________________________________________ Richard Woodland Mayor, City of Rexburg ____________________________________________________ Cole Baldwin Chair, Madison Fire District ____________________________________________________ Kimber Ricks Chair, Madison County Commission