Nebraska Ambulance Service Changes in the Works

The mayor made it clear Monday that she won't let the recommendations in a recent ambulance report collect dust.

(Mayor Coleen Seng also made that clear in a letter to the editor the following day.)

She said her office has gone over the whole report in detail.

"I do think that we can make this all work," she told the City Council.

She has appointed a group to meet weekly to implement some of the recommended administrative changes to the ambulance service, run by the Fire Department. The group comprises Fire Chief Mike Spadt, fire union head Dave Engler and her aide, Rick Hoppe.

The city already has been working on some of the changes recommended (such as getting the feds to reimburse more for ambulance services and getting reimbursement for rural ambulance calls).

Spadt said the report is being taken seriously, and some recommendations are being immediately implemented, such as using on-duty employees for events where the ambulance is on standby, rather than paying overtime.

And the city is looking at having billing handled by local hospitals or the city, rather than the current private contractor.

But some issues will take more time, particularly those that require changes to the labor agreement with Fire Department employees. Negotiations would have to be reopened (unlikely) or the city would have to wait almost two years until they begin again.

"They are monumental shifts in the way we do business," Spadt said.

Seng said she expects Councilman Jon Camp - who organized the ambulance committee - to introduce ordinances that will accomplish remaining goals that she said can't be handled administratively. That includes the likely to be unpopular 22 percent rate increase and new services charges.

Some council members have talked about waiving the estimated $642,000 debt the ambulance service owes the city, Seng said. If they're serious about that, "This is the time to step forward," the mayor said, because it could affect other proposed changes.

At the end of her speech, Seng thanked Russ Bayer, the businessman who headed up the committee, city staffers and volunteers who served on the committee.

Conspicuously absent from her list: Camp, who created the committee.

WILL LINCOLN ALLOW CONCEALED WEAPONS?

Now that the state has passed a concealed weapons law, the question is, will Lincoln agree?

Democratic Mayor Seng - and the Democrat-controlled City Council - could be expected to have different ideas about the wisdom of allowing Lincolnites to pack heat. But Seng's chief of staff won't say much about it.

"Stand by," was all he would say Monday, indicating something will be coming later. The city has until January to decide, he noted.

LINCOLN TO RETOOL SEX OFFENDER RULES

Now that state lawmakers have spoken on the issue of sex offenders, it's Lincoln's turn.

Seng has directed Police Chief Tom Casady and the city's law department to write an ordinance that conforms with what the Legislature passed. Cities can ban registered sex offenders from living within 500 feet of schools and child care centers.

This year, Seng proposed banning high-risk sex offenders from living within 1,000 feet of elementary and middle schools. But she put the legislation on hold to see whether the state would enact something uniform statewide.

Something should be ready for the City Council in the next couple of weeks, Seng said.

EXTRA PROPERTY VALUE: $2B

What does the estimated

17.5 percent increase in the value of property in Lancaster County equate to in dollars?

About $2 billion.

Tax that at the current rate, and the city would get about $6 million in extra revenue.

Of the 17.5 percent increase, 14.25 can be attributed to the revaluation of property done by the county assessor's office this year, according to Lincoln Finance Director Don Herz.

The value of property in the county hasn't been re-examined for three years, which resulted in double-digit increases in the value of houses, agricultural land, and commercial and industrial property.