What changed in public‑safety fees: EMS, medical supplies, lift assists and online court transactions

San Antonio presenters from fire, police and municipal court described a set of fee changes to help recover direct service costs.

Fire: Chief Valerie Frosto said the largest single fee change is raising EMS transport from $1,500 to $1,700, adjusting aid‑only fees and recovering medical‑supply costs with a flat $49 charge on transports. Frosto said a new lift‑assist fee is intended to cover calls that use emergency resources without a patient transport; she added the lift assist will be billed to the facility when the incident occurs at an assisted‑living or congregate facility.

Police: Chief Salome explained a set of proposed revenue enhancements (~$4.9M total) that include fees tied to towing, alarm responses, records requests and e‑citations. He also explained an arrestee firearm‑return fee to recover personnel time spent processing firearms that are otherwise eligible for release (test‑firing, NIBIN checks and stolen‑property checks).

Courts: Municipal Court Clerk Fred Garcia said the court recommends increasing the online transaction fee from $4 to $5; Garcia noted state law permits a maximum of $5 and estimated the current per‑transaction cost is about $5.15.

Council members asked how fees would be billed and whether they could deter people from seeking help; leaders said some costs would be billed to institutions (lift assists) while transport/supply fees are typically billed to patients. Several council members requested further detail on district impacts and possible mitigation strategies for low‑income residents.