PLACEMENT: Consent
TITLE:
title
FIRST AMENDMENT TO INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN MARTIN COUNTY AND THE MARTIN COUNTY TAX COLLECTOR REGARDING BILLING AND COLLECTION OF EMS USER FEES
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
executive summary
The Martin County Tax Collector’s Office and Martin County Fire Rescue entered into an Interlocal Agreement on November 17th,1992 and amended on June 25th, 2002 and June 9th, 2009. A rescission and complete restatement of the Interlocal Agreement was approved by the Board on February 10th, 2015 and was amended again on March 6th, 2017. This Agenda Item is to amend the Interlocal agreement to revise the fee structure for the provision of technology services and include language for billing and collection policies and procedures.
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DEPARTMENT: Fire Rescue
PREPARED BY: Name: Matthew Resch
Title: Fire Rescue Administrator
REQUESTED BY: Chad Michael Cianciulli, Fire Chief
PRESET:
PROCEDURES: None
BACKGROUND/RELATED STRATEGIC GOAL:
1. Agreement / Contract drafted by: Elysse Elder, County Attorney’s Office
2. Parties to the Agreement/Contract: Martin County Tax Collector and Martin County BOCC
3. Purpose of the Agreement/Contract: to amend and restate the existing Interlocal Agreement
4. New/Renewal/Modified: Modified
5. Duration: 1 year with automatic renewal unless either party provides written notice with intent to terminate
6. Benefits to Martin County: The Tax Collector’s Office is appropriately equipped to provide billing and collection services needed by the County.
7. Cost to Martin County (annual and potential total): Flat rate of $19.00 per billed Florida Medicaid patient and 6.7% of all other collected revenue from EMS User Fees billing totaling approximately $500,000 of the $7,500,000 in collected EMS revenue
Martin County BOCC and the Tax Collector’s Office entered into an Interlocal Agreement to provide billing and collection of EMS user Fees on November 17, 1992. The contract was amended on June 25, 2002 when the Tax Collector’s Office requested and was granted a 1.5% increase. The contract was amended again on June 9, 2009 when the Tax Collector’s Office requested that the fee for primary billing increase from 3% to 5.5%. A rescission and complete restatement of the Interlocal Agreement was approved by the Board on February 10, 2015 adding the provision for the collection of aeromedical fees and again on March 6, 2017 to remove the aeromedical fee provision. This amendment will shift the responsibility and expense of providing billing software and hardware from the County to the Tax Collector as well as provide an outline to develop collaborative policies and procedures to further enhance the billing and collections process.
ISSUES:
The Tax Collector’s Office provides billing and collection of EMS user fees for the County. This Agenda Item removes the provision for the County to provide all computer hardware and billing software as previously outlined in section 2.e and transfers that expense to the Tax Collector. The fee is revised by 1.2% in section 2.b to account for the shift in expense from the County to the Tax Collector. Section 3 of the agreement is also amended to include a mechanism to create collaborative billing and collection policies and procedures not previously outlined.
All other provisions of the agreement shall remain unchanged.
LEGAL SUFFICIENCY REVIEW:
This item has been reviewed for legal sufficiency to determine whether it is consistent with applicable law, has identified and addressed legal risks, and has developed strategies for legal defensibility.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
RECOMMENDATION
Move that the Board approve the amendment to the Interlocal Agreement between the Martin County Tax Collector’s Office and the Martin County Board of County Commissioners for the revised fee and addition of an outline for billing and collection policies and procedures.
ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Pull this item from the Consent Agenda and direct staff accordingly.
FISCAL IMPACT:
RECOMMENDATION
None
|
Funding Source |
County Funds |
Non-County Funds |
|
Annual Ambulance Revenue Approx. $7,500,000 |
6.7% of Collected Revenue Annual Total $502,500 |
|
|
Subtotal |
$502,500 |
|
|
Project Total |
$502,500 |
ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS
None
DOCUMENT(S) REQUIRING ACTION:
☐Budget Transfer / Amendment ☐ Chair Letter ☒Contract / Agreement
☐Grant / Application ☐Notice ☐Ordinance ☐Resolution
☐Other:
This document may be reproduced upon request in an alternative format by contacting the County ADA Coordinator (772) 320-3131, the County Administration Office (772) 288-5400, Florida Relay 711, or by completing our accessibility feedback form at www.martin.fl.us/accessibility-feedback <http://www.martin.fl.us/accessibility-feedback>.