Staff warns ambulance-billing revenue will stop flowing to Corte Madera this year, altering fire-cost offsets

Chris, the presenting finance staff member, told the Finance Advisory Committee the biggest change in the updated 10-year forecast was the end of ambulance-billing revenue flowing into the town’s general fund. “The way that that flows through the general fund has, will stop this year,” he said, and described an arrangement in which Ross Valley Paramedic Authority will reimburse Central Marin Fire Authority for ambulance operating costs and paramedic premiums.

A committee member asked whether any offsetting expense relief would accompany the lost revenue; Chris said the Authority’s change shifts roughly $2,000,000 in revenue and that the town has sought revenue replacement rather than simply reduced costs. He explained Corte Madera historically collected the ambulance billing revenue and used it to offset its contribution to the Central Marin Fire Authority JPA, which Corte Madera and Larkspur split roughly 50/50. Under the new structure, those billing flows will no longer directly reduce Corte Madera’s share of JPA costs.

The change prompted committee members to press staff for more detail on the fiscal impact and how the loss interacts with other forecast assumptions. Chris said council had already adopted budget amendments and directed staff to update the 10-year forecast for committee feedback, and he offered to share his financial models with committee members for deeper review.