Del Gallo continues push for ALS fees collected by REMS
The Rotterdam Town Board is scheduled to finally vote on an ambulance service provider after months of heated debate.
The decision is expected to take place at the Wednesday, May 11, board meeting after months of waiting. According to the agenda for the night, before the town makes a decision on the bid proposals from Rotterdam Emergency Medical Services and Mohawk Ambulance Service for a period of two years, they are expected to vote on a resolution allowing Supervisor Frank Del Gallo to negotiate reimbursement fees of advanced life support fees collected by REMS. If such an agreement can’t be reached, legal action is recommended as the next step.
Councilwoman Nicola DiLeva said during the agenda meeting Monday, May 9, she was concerned about placing the reimbursement of ALS on the same agenda and directly before the bid selection is voted on. DiLeva said that if the town was going to try to recoup possible ALS fees from REMS, it should have been pursued before the contract is awarded.
Councilman Wayne Calder said he believes the bids should be voted on before voting on the reimbursement item, but Deputy Supervisor Robert Godlewski disagreed. Godlewski said he has heard through unofficial sources that the Office of the Attorney General might have begun looking into the REMS’ collection of ALS fees that weren’t handed over to the town. REMS Attorney Frank Salamone has said there was a verbal agreement with the previous administration that allowed REMS to retain those fees.
`We have been talking with the town attorney (David Devaprasad) and he is the one, after an hour talking about the pros and cons, who suggested that we have to demonstrate that we are just not going to say, ‘Goodbye fees,’ and we have to vote on that first,` said Deputy Supervisor Robert Godlewski. `The key word is negotiate; we are not demanding.`
Calder said he talked to Devaprasad and was told the town’s contracts with their attorneys don’t cover going to court on this case if it is pursued, and there would be additional legal fees. Godlewski said there is $30,000 in fees for litigation.
`He can do the research and a lot of checking out of stuff that is handled here, but if it goes farther than that, it is not covered,` said Calder.
Del Gallo said the town would do what it must to resolve the issue.
`It doesn’t matter what we have to do, it has to be done. There is no getting around it,` said Del Gallo. `You are obligated to the taxpayer. You are going to have to make a decision on your own.`
DiLeva said the resolution was not clear enough, such as when the town is going after to try to collect fees. She added that she isn’t against collecting ALS fees, but she doesn’t like it appearing on the agenda adjacent to the bid proposal votes.
Councilman Matthew Martin said he viewed the two resolutions as separate from each other.
`I thought we were going to discuss this as a board and come up with who we want, and put that out,` said DiLeva. `They are both related. How do you say they are not related?`
Martin did say he understood DiLeva’s point on how the public might view the juxtaposed resolutions, but he said the order shouldn’t matter if the board is viewing them as separately.
`Forget the public. We have to do what is right,` said Del Gallo. `Nothing against the public, they can think whatever way they want.`
Calder steps aside for vote
Before adjourning from the agenda meeting, Calder said that, after talking with the town attorney and his personal attorney, he decided to abstain from voting on the ambulance service provider for the town.
During the Town Board special meeting on Monday, May 2, Calder publicly disclosed that his son-in-law works for Mohawk, and he wanted to discuss with the town attorney on if he should or shouldn’t vote based on the possible conflict. Calder said he has no financial interest in which company the ambulance service provider contract is awarded to, but he didn’t want to complicate and create a future problem if somebody challenges the vote. Upon getting elected, he said he told every board member about this possible conflict.
While Calder said his personal attorney said there wasn’t a conflict in him voting, the town attorney said there was.
`[Devaprasad] said he really researched it and looked at it and he said no,` said Calder. `I’m not happy, but there is nothing I can do. If I vote and I cause a problem by voting, than whatever is done might be null and void. I don’t want to be responsible for that.`
CORRECTION: Please note, it was not Councilman Wayne Calder, but Deputy Supervisor Robert Godlewski that said he has heard through `unofficial sources` that the Office of the Attorney General might have begun looking into the REMS’ collection of ALS fees that weren’t handed over to the town.
The Spotlight
regrets this error and apologizes for any confusion. The story above was edited to reflect this correction.
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