All vehicles used under this franchise shall be operated and maintained in accordance with the laws of the State of California and ordinances of the County of Tulare and the City of Tulare.
(A) The city hereby expressly reserves the right to modify, amend, alter, change or eliminate any of the provisions of this franchise during its life, for the following purposes, to wit:
(1) To eliminate or delete from such conditions as prove obsolete or impractical;
(2) To impose such additional conditions upon the grantee as may be just and reasonable, for the purpose of insuring adequate service to the public;
(3) To make reasonable orders respecting character, extent, quality and standard of service; and
(4) To make such other rules and regulations as may be reasonably necessary to facilitate the service to be rendered to the public under this franchise.
(B) The grantee must have a valid permit and the drivers, operators and attendants of the authorized ambulance shall, at all times, be qualified pursuant to the requirements of the Vehicle Code of the state and the Medical Director.
(C) The allowable fees for service charged by the ambulance provider shall be no greater than the rates approved in the grantee’s request for proposal. Grantee may, however, petition the City Council no more than annually, except for extraordinary circumstances, for a review and revision of the rates. The City Council may approve the revisions with or without conducting a public hearing as it deems appropriate. A schedule of fees for services shall be made available, by the grantee, upon request to any person.
(D) In the interest of public health, safety and welfare, the grantee shall not operate any ambulance unless and until the following conditions have been met:
(1) All vehicles to be operated as ambulances must meet all state and federal standards.
(2) Each ambulance shall be equipped with all safety equipment and supplies required by the California Highway Patrol, California Welfare and Institutions Code, California Health and Safety Code, County EMS Agency and the Medical Director.
(3) Ambulances may be inspected at irregular intervals at the discretion of the Permit Officer or the Chief of Police.
(E) A driver and attendant shall respond to all calls. The drivers and attendants shall comply with the following:
(1) Shall meet all state and federal standards concerning the licensing and certification of ambulance drivers and attendants and be of good moral character;
(2) Shall wear clean uniforms bearing the county and provider agency standard insignia indicating the person’s class of service, be neat and clean, and conduct themselves in a professional manner; and
(3) Have a set of fingerprints on file with the Tulare Police Department.
(F) Except as provided by county’s EMS protocol, grantee shall not provide ambulance service utilizing vehicles or personnel which are based outside the city limits.
(G) Grantee shall maintain a distinctive color scheme with the company name and identification number on each side and rear of each ambulance, lettering to be not less than four inches high.
(H) Prior to January 1, 2007, a minimum of two ambulances shall be fully staffed, 24 hours/day, seven days/week by: one EMT-I and one EMT-II. Beginning January 1, 2007, all ambulances must be staffed to the Advanced Life Support (ALS) level, which requires at least one EMT-1 and one EMT-P Paramedic in each ambulance. BLS ambulances may be utilized for the purpose of BLS interfacility transfers. However, at no time on or after January 1, 2007, will it be acceptable to respond a BLS staffed ambulance to a prehospital request for ambulance service unless no ALS is available and the BLS ambulance is the closest available ambulance to the call. All BLS ambulances must be staffed with a minimum of two Emergency Medical Technician I personnel and be equipped with an automated external defibrillator (AED).
(I) One or more separate ambulance stations, as determined by the City Council, shall be maintained and occupied by the ambulance service provider. All such locations shall be approved by the City Council and are intended to meet minimum response times, considering traffic, street patterns and other ambulance station locations. Each ambulance station shall be equipped with all communication equipment required by the Permit Officer.
(J) The delivery of pre-hospital emergency medical care provided by the grantee shall be reviewed and approved by the Permit Officer in consultation with the Medical Director.
(K) All ambulance personnel, employed by the grantee, shall meet or exceed the training standards required by the Medical Director.
(L) The grantee shall maintain each ambulance in good serviceable condition, meeting all state and federal laws applicable to the performance of such vehicles and in no case shall the motor or chassis be older than ten years.
(M) The grantee shall provide, and abide by the direction established in accordance with policies established by the Tulare County Emergency Medical Services Committee, a “call-up” protocol of additional ambulance(s) as may be required during mass casualties or other unusual circumstances.
(1995 Code, § 7.40.110) (Ord. 06-2024, passed 6-20-2006)