Editorial: La Pine fire district could use La Pine community’s help

Published 9:30 pm Saturday, January 7, 2023

When it looks like a public safety organization may be struggling, the community should pay attention. And there are some signs that the La Pine Rural Fire Protection District is struggling.

We are going to highlight three.

The first is about how people are being billed and transported. On Wednesday, the Deschutes County Commission may approve an order directing the La Pine Rural Fire Protection District to cease and desist from unreasonably discouraging patients from requesting medical transport or treatment and charging fees to parties other than patients or their insurers for transport or treatment. You can see the full possible order here: tinyurl.com/LaPineorder.

That has been an ongoing dispute between the fire district and St. Charles Medical Group and the La Pine Community Health Clinic.

The second is that at the end of December, the union representing the La Pine firefighters filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the fire district.

A complaint does not mean that there is any wrongdoing. It is an allegation. But if you put the complaint together with a look through minutes of La Pine fire district meetings, there is clear tension between the district board and employees. Some of that certainly seems related to costs of providing service and district revenues and the related ability to retain and attract employees.

And that brings us to the third issue, which may not surprise you by being finances. We have not seen the district’s 2022 audit. When the La Pine district submitted its 2021 audit, it faced a decline in its financial position. The heart of the matter: “In recent years, the District has had to deal with a substantial increase in call volume and demands for service, especially emergency medical transports. District response has been to add four firefighter paramedic positions over the last few years and an increase in the ambulance fleet from three to four vehicles. Although increase emergency medical transports can translate into ‘increased revenue,’ the reimbursement rates from the federal government (Medicaid, Medicare, and Veterans Administration) and many private insurance carriers is less than the actual cost of providing ALS paramedic service. The reimbursement rates are less than 50% on what, by charter, is to be a fee supported system,” the audit said.

All these things have been challenges for the district. They don’t suggest people in La Pine should fear that fire and ambulance service won’t be there when they need it. They suggest the district has significant challenges. The district seems likely to add a local option levy to the ballot this year, which may help it continue to provide service the community needs.

There is a meeting of the board of the La Pine Rural Fire Protection District on Jan. 12 at 9 a.m. If you can, it might be a good idea to go. The best way the district can solve any challenges is in partnership with the people of La Pine. Will you try to help?