MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake City Council unanimously voted to lower the mandatory ambulance fee citizens pay on their utility bills each month.

The monthly fee was reduced from $3.34 to $3.12, which is an annual savings of $2.64 per utility account.

The ambulance fund has been reduced annually since its inception in 2007.

The fund allows for free ambulance transportation from anywhere in the city that pays the fee. Any person or business who pays a utility bill, pays the monthly fee.

If someone is insured, the insurance company is billed for the entire amount of the transport and the city pays any remaining balance, Moses Lake Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief Corbin Moberg said. If someone does not have insurance and uses the ambulance service, the city pays the entire bill.

By billing each person in the city a small monthly fee, it creates a fund used to support the service and reduce the hefty cost of ambulance service, city staff reported.

The fund is only to sustain itself and is not to exceed more than is needed to operate the fund. It is reviewed annually to adjust the cost, Finance Director Ron Cone said.

The cash balance in the 2008 ambulance fund was $350,882, according to a city document.