HAHN REVIVES MEDICS MAYOR ORDERS RESTORATION OF PLANS TO BOLSTER AMBULANCE SERVICE.

Byline: Harrison Sheppard  Staff Writer

Angered that paramedic services were cut without his knowledge or approval, Mayor James Hahn ordered the Fire Department on Thursday to immediately restore plans to enhance ambulance service that had been put in limbo earlier this month.

Hahn said while all departments are looking for ways to trim their budgets, sacrificing public service should be the last resort.

``We want city employees to tighten their belts,'' Hahn said in a phone interview from Washington, D.C., where he was attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors. ``We don't want the public to have to see a reduction in service.''

As the Daily News reported Thursday, the Fire Department recently shelved plans to staff four new ambulances citywide, and took out of service three more ambulances that were being staffed part time.

The city faces a projected $14.4 million budget deficit and had hoped to save about $2.5 million with cuts to the ambulance service.

The cuts came despite the department's efforts to recover from a paramedic crisis that officials largely attribute to years of tight budgets under Mayor Richard Riordan, who was trying to expand the Police Department.

Fire Chief William Bamattre acknowledged that officials with the Mayor's Office told him several weeks ago that they were ``uncomfortable'' with the idea of cutting ambulance service.

The service, Bamattre said, was meant to be temporarily postponed only until the mayor and City Council gave him further direction on what cuts to make.

``Our intention was always to still implement them in this fiscal year, because that would still keep us on target,'' Bamattre said.

He emphasized that the department has been steadily building up its medical response resources, including adding 132 new positions last year.

Deputy Mayor Matt Middlebrook said, ``The Mayor's Office was surprised and upset'' upon hearing of the cuts.

Three of the ambulances, all in the Valley, are expected to resume operation today on a voluntary overtime basis 12 hours a day, as they were previously.

The four other ambulances, including one in the Valley, will be staffed on a full-time basis starting with the next pay period in early February, Bamattre said.

Fire officials emphasized that the ambulances were all of the lower-priority Basic Life Support type, which respond to lower-level medical problems. They also said they have made an effort in the past year to give firefighters advanced paramedic training so they can respond to medical emergencies on a fire engine when an ambulance is not immediately available.

Councilman Jack Weiss, a member of the Public Safety and Budget and Finance committees, said it doesn't matter what type of ambulances were being cut.

``As far as I'm concerned, emergency services are emergency services,'' Weiss said. ``There's no question that you need a spectrum of resources, so you can respond to a spectrum of emergencies. There's no question there has to be a mix. But there's also no question that all elements of the mix need improvement.''

Hahn's office is reviewing all elements of the budget with department managers to find areas to cut in the wake of the current economic slowdown.

But officials with the Mayor's Office and the Fire Department said they have to figure out where else to get the money that would have been saved by the reductions in ambulance service.

``The mayor is going to be making a number of recommendations throughout the city with regard to addressing budget shortfalls,'' said Middlebrook. ``And this (ambulance service reductions) will not be one of his recommendations.''