Columbus and New Berlin veto UVAC contracts
NEW BERLIN – On Friday, Feb. 7, the towns of New Berlin and Columbus simultaneously hosted special session town board meetings at 6 p.m. to veto contacts motioned, signed and carried by previous administrations in 2013.
The two towns – one still acting under the same supervisor as in 2013 – had each voted to charter with Unadilla Valley Ambulance Corporation (UVAC) at a cost of $50,000 annually in spite of the popular opinion of both village and town residents.
Prior to the installation of UVAC (a basic life support service), the Town and Village of New Berlin and the Town of Columbus all relied on the shared the services of the New Berlin Ambulance Service (NBAS, a certified advanced life support service), which had been a community staple for many years within the jurisdiction of the Village of New Berlin Fire Department.
In New Berlin, newly elected town Supervisor Robert Starr, a well known opponent of UVAC who ran on the platform of “bringing voice back to the people,” was pleased with the results of Friday’s resolution in which town trustees voted by a 3-1 margin to disacknowledge the former administration’s 12-month, $50,000 contract with UVAC.
Similarly, the Town of Columbus, headed by incumbent Supervisor Tom Grace, voted in favor of a resolution to repudiate the previous contract that it held with UVAC. That contract was also signed last year at a cost of $50,000 to Columbus taxpayers.
Grace said, “Upon the examination and review of the previous contract by the Town of Columbus' ambulance attorney Pat Fitzgerald, it was revealed that the contract which was not signed, was null, void and unenforceable.”
“Four years ago, the Town (of Columbus) was charged less than $10,000 for the ambulance service supplied by NBAS. The first year that UVAC was contracted, the taxpayers paid $40,000 with a proposed $10,000 increase for 2014. We felt compelled to re-evaluate what was on the table and trustees voted in favor of NBAS,” added Grace.
The Town of Columbus trustees mirrored the Town of New Berlin with their vote of 3-1, ushering in NBAS as its ambulance service provider for 2014.
Additionally, NBAS has offered service to Columbus at a prorated service fee of approximately $23,000 for the balance of 2014, as the company was unable to provide service to the town for the first portion of the year.
Grace said, “The cost just kept going up and the town knew that it was irresponsible to charge the taxpayers more for less service. More importantly, it brought a number of town and the village of New Berlin back on the same page, as it once was. The Town and village of New Berlin, along with the Towns of Columbus and West Edmeston, will all utilize the service of NBAS once all the proper procedural paperwork is finalized.”
For the interim, Cooperstown Medical Transport, which has a valid county-wide Certificate of Need to operate ambulance services, will pick up some of the slack while the village and towns move forward with the necessary actions needed to effectuate the adopted resolution that will save taxpayers in both townships a minimum of $50,000 this year alone.
The two towns – one still acting under the same supervisor as in 2013 – had each voted to charter with Unadilla Valley Ambulance Corporation (UVAC) at a cost of $50,000 annually in spite of the popular opinion of both village and town residents.
Prior to the installation of UVAC (a basic life support service), the Town and Village of New Berlin and the Town of Columbus all relied on the shared the services of the New Berlin Ambulance Service (NBAS, a certified advanced life support service), which had been a community staple for many years within the jurisdiction of the Village of New Berlin Fire Department.
In New Berlin, newly elected town Supervisor Robert Starr, a well known opponent of UVAC who ran on the platform of “bringing voice back to the people,” was pleased with the results of Friday’s resolution in which town trustees voted by a 3-1 margin to disacknowledge the former administration’s 12-month, $50,000 contract with UVAC.
Similarly, the Town of Columbus, headed by incumbent Supervisor Tom Grace, voted in favor of a resolution to repudiate the previous contract that it held with UVAC. That contract was also signed last year at a cost of $50,000 to Columbus taxpayers.
Grace said, “Upon the examination and review of the previous contract by the Town of Columbus' ambulance attorney Pat Fitzgerald, it was revealed that the contract which was not signed, was null, void and unenforceable.”
“Four years ago, the Town (of Columbus) was charged less than $10,000 for the ambulance service supplied by NBAS. The first year that UVAC was contracted, the taxpayers paid $40,000 with a proposed $10,000 increase for 2014. We felt compelled to re-evaluate what was on the table and trustees voted in favor of NBAS,” added Grace.
The Town of Columbus trustees mirrored the Town of New Berlin with their vote of 3-1, ushering in NBAS as its ambulance service provider for 2014.
Additionally, NBAS has offered service to Columbus at a prorated service fee of approximately $23,000 for the balance of 2014, as the company was unable to provide service to the town for the first portion of the year.
Grace said, “The cost just kept going up and the town knew that it was irresponsible to charge the taxpayers more for less service. More importantly, it brought a number of town and the village of New Berlin back on the same page, as it once was. The Town and village of New Berlin, along with the Towns of Columbus and West Edmeston, will all utilize the service of NBAS once all the proper procedural paperwork is finalized.”
For the interim, Cooperstown Medical Transport, which has a valid county-wide Certificate of Need to operate ambulance services, will pick up some of the slack while the village and towns move forward with the necessary actions needed to effectuate the adopted resolution that will save taxpayers in both townships a minimum of $50,000 this year alone.
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