Emergency services bills set aside after debate

DELAND -- Two Florida House bills aimed at ending more than a decade of political infighting and jockeying over the delivery of emergency services in Volusia County won't make it to the legislative floor during the next session, elected state officials that represent the Volusia area decided Tuesday.

The first bill, proposed by Rep. Dwayne Taylor, D-Daytona Beach, would have allowed Volusia cities with a population greater than 30,000 to take control of emergency medical transports in their jurisdictions if they desired.

EVAC, a private nonprofit company, has provided emergency medical transport services countywide for the past 27 years under contract to the county. And over the years, county officials have repeatedly denied cities' requests to take over the service in their jurisdictions.

The second piece of legislation, proposed by Rep. Pat Patterson, R-DeLand, would have consolidated emergency services in the county under its own taxing district.

While Taylor's proposal stems from his unique understanding of Daytona Beach's position on the issue of transport as a former city commissioner, Patterson said his proposal was a reaction to pressure for him to take a position on Taylor's proposed bill.

Patterson said he'd only support an effort of service consolidation in the county and had hoped his proposal would put the long-fought transport issue "to rest."

During a delegation meeting Tuesday that included a four-hour parade of requests from area individuals, government agencies and organizations, the delegates heard locals' opinions about each of the two proposed bills.

Ormond Beach Mayor Fred Costello said the city opposed Taylor's bill but supported Patterson's bill if some changes were made. The city of DeLand and the Volusia County Medical Society, which represents roughly 500 area doctors, also said they opposed Taylor's proposal.

Meanwhile, South Daytona Mayor Blaine O'Neal said his city supported the transport bill, though he requested the population restriction be lifted so the city could also provide its own transport services. Volusia Tax Reform also backed the proposal, saying a poll it conducted showed locals don't want another layer of taxation, which they felt Patterson's proposed bill would bring.

In the end, the delegates ignored a request from Volusia County Council Vice Chairwoman Joie Alexander that votes on both measures be delayed to a later date to allow a more in-depth discussion of the issues.

A narrow vote from the panel knocked Taylor's bill out of the upcoming legislative session and Patterson agreed to toss his proposed bill out of the mix before a formal vote was taken.

Requests from speakers at the meeting largely asked state officials to do no harm to them in terms of state funding cuts or unfunded mandates. In fact, few at the meeting requested additional funding for projects or services.

But two requests were aimed at protecting some locals' rights.

The group Equality Florida asked the delegates to support a bill that would prohibit discrimination against people based on their sexual preferences or orientations. And the Equal Rights Alliance asked the delegates to support ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in Florida, providing for gender equality.

heather.scofield@news-jrnl.com

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