Rotterdam EMS has come to an agreement with the IRS to have their debt paid off with an equitable payment plan.
In an email sent on Feb. 21, REMS Board of Directors President Joe VanDerwerker said that the emergency care service has settled into an agreement with the IRS to pay off their debt with an equitable payment plan.
We at REMS have been working hard towards a resolution with the IRS for a lengthy amount of time,and have had to do a lot of thankless work to get it resolved said VanDerwerker in the statement. `Representatives from Paul Tonko’s office along with Attorney Gerard Parisi deserve credit in helping bringing this issue to closure.`
In early January, collection papers were sent to REMS and the town for more than $315,000 in fines, penalties and interest owed to the IRS. REMS has worked with attorney and Republican town board member Parisi to work with Manhattan IRS Appeals to recommend abatement of the penalties related to failure to pay. VanDerwerker has said that the issues that REMS is facing and their debt is an issue that was inherited from previous administrations in the department and that they have been working out ways to deal with monetary issues including bank accounts made specifically for dealing with the debt and paying back over $200,000 over the past two years. VanDerwerker has also made it clear that the payment plan set up between the IRS and REMS will not affect tax payers in the town of Rotterdam, and hopes that the emergency service will be out of this issue in about 3 years.
`With a new self-pay billing plan in place and a solid insurance billing program, we are confident that the taxpayers will not be contributing funds for a ‘Bail out of REMS’ as some have liked to label this agreement. There are plenty of other areas that the contract money will be utilized in without having to go to the IRS,` said VanDerwerker.
The Not for profit REMS is the consolidation of EMS providers that have been servicing the town since 1936, according to VanDerwerker. Under New York State Law, Fire Districts in a town cannot bill providers for EMS service due to their funding through taxing districts and is the reason that fire districts do not get involved with EMS services, draining department funds to support the EMS.
In 2009, REMS answered approximately 2,575 calls for EMS in 2009, according to VanDerwerker, and hope to answer over 2,700 this year.
`I’m just happy that this has come to an end,` said VanDerwerker.
For more information, check back to spotlightnews.com and the Feb. 26 issue of the Schenectady Spotlight.
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