PRESENTER: Presenter
Karrie Cook, Budget Manager
Body
SUBJECT: Title
Approval of the first reading of an amendment to the New Braunfels Code of Ordinances, Appendix D by adopting new fees for Supplies, Specialty Care Transport, and Fire Inspections and adding fees to Appendix D.
Header
DEPARTMENT: Fire
Body
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
A presentation regarding proposed fee adjustments was given at the August 12th FY 2025 Budget Workshop. Some of the fees proposed in the FY 2025 Budget process include fire related fees including EMS related fees, specialty transport fees, and Fire Marshall’s Office (FMO) fees.
The City of New Braunfels is not currently billing for consumables. This billing would help offset the growing costs of EMS service and supplies.
The City can now offer Specialty Critical Care transport with our increasing number of certified critical care paramedics. This allows for the City to bill at a more significant Medicare reimbursement tier without any impact on citizens or Medicare/Medicaid patients.
Several Fire Marshall’s Office fees have been adjusted to reflect an employee cost of $75.00 per hour which includes items like labor, vehicle, equipment, and fuel.
The proposed fee modifications are below:
ISSUE:
The Fire Department is proposing several fee modifications to offset the growing cost of EMS supplies and services, to capture the cost of utilizing Specialty Critical Care transport an additional transport method that can increase Medicare reimbursements, and to update the costing metrics of FMO fees to be more in-line with current staff rates.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
Strategic Priority: Organizational Excellence
Objective: Considering statutory and market-based factors, continue to diversify revenue streams to support long-term fiscal sustainability of the organization.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Any additional revenue generated by these fee adjustments will be incorporated into future budgets starting in FY 2026.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the amendment.