Superior North EMS is projecting a $400,000 shortfall in their 2012 budget in the city’s first quarter variance report.
EMS chief Norm Gale said the variance doesn’t come as a surprise as it’s been difficult to maintain service given increasing demands. They have had an increase in demand with the number of 911 calls increasing every year.
“We also have external factors such as paramedic offload delays at the (Thunder Bay Regional) Health Sciences Centre and the provision of non-urgent transportation,” Gale said.
“There are costs associated with these services and those costs are increasing,” he noted.
Superior North EMS has seen an increase in paramedic sick time and injury time and the accumulation of these factors has led to the $400,000 variance, Gale said.
Many of these factors are out of the organization’s control, he added.
“These problems and challenges will continue in the short-term. We are looking for long-term solutions and those long-term solutions will require collaboration from all stakeholders, including government,” Gale said.
Superior North EMS is working on a strategic plan, which will be presented to city council this spring, but Gale said they don’t expect much change in the variance for the year’s second-quarter report.
The city’s facilities and fleet department is also reporting a significant unfavourable variance with a projected $127,000 shortfall for 2012 because of the increase in the price of fuel since Jan. 1, 2012.
Transit operations are expected to account for $75,000 of the variance.
Facilities and fleet will work with the other city departments to reduce fuel consumption and look at other ways to reduce costs to offset fuel costs.
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