(A) Findings. The City Commission finds the following:
(1) There is a need to ensure that residents and recipients of emergency medical services receive enhanced care in an efficient manner;
(2) The city, along with other municipalities in the county (“participating municipalities”), have joined together pursuant to the Municipal Partnership Act, Public Act 258 of 2011, being M.C.L.A. §§ 124.111 et seq., as amended, and Part 209 of the state’s Public Health Code, Public Act 368 of 1978, being M.C.L.A. §§ 333.1101 et seq., to develop and enter into an agreement with three emergency ground ambulance providers, American Medical Response, Life EMS and Rockford Ambulance (collectively, the “EMS Providers”), for ambulance pre-hospital life support services, to regulate ambulance pre-hospital life support operations by providing standards, and to defray costs through the collection of fees for services or by the creation and levy of special assessments; and
(3) The participating municipalities and the EMS providers have entered into a formal agreement originally dated January 14, 2016, to designate primary emergency operating rights in certain areas, to improve patient and system outcomes by ensuring continuity of services, to establish transparency in operations and to develop data reporting standards (“agreement”).
(B) Designation of primary service area. Pursuant to the agreement, the city has designated a primary emergency ground ambulance service area to the provider or providers listed in the agreement. The agreement contemplates periodic review of emergency ground ambulance service providers and the service areas to which they are primarily assigned. During this review process, it is possible for other emergency ground ambulance service providers to be authorized to act and to be assigned a primary service area. Unless and until such assignment is made, only a currently authorized emergency ground ambulance service provider may operate within the city.
(C) Penalties. Any violation of division (B) above is a municipal civil infraction. Each and every time a violation occurs is a separate offense. In addition to seeking civil fines for the violation of this section, the city may also seek injunctive relief to bar future violations.
(Ord. effective 3-18-2016)