But DVOR has told us that it will only cost the taxpayer a few dollars per household to fund REMS. There are a lot more expenses that have been hidden from the public that need to be addressed before even considering a tax district to fund them. This could end up being a bottomless money pit that the taxpayer will have to fund unless a complete audit of all expenses of REMS is done before any vote should take place.
I have always publicly stated that this tax district would be just that...a bottomless pit...a "runaway train"...among other dangers foreseen. And as Cicero points out, no one knew about the collection agreement between Tommasone and REMS...which means Tommasone knowingly covered shortages with public money knowing there were other funds collected that should have covered it...or at least a sizeable portion of it.
And as Cicero points out, no one knew about the collection agreement between Tommasone and REMS....
No, I believe people knew. I believe Hamilton knew, Parisi knew, Bob God and FDG knew...I believe that the information was knowingly being withheld from the resident by our elected leaders, because it was being used as political leverage by the REMS/Conservative to persuade certain people to advance their agenda for this unneccessary taxing district.
What I would like to know is, how did the REMS list this money when they were audited? How were hundreds of thousands of dollars collected by the REMS? Being a non-profit, don't they have to justify how every cent is collected and spent? Who was doing the accounting for the REMS?
Since you folks keep bringing up something I wrote BEFORE I knew anything about ALS fees being collected but not sent on to the town -- I will reiterate my statement from AFTER I learned about this situation:
"The 10 cents per thousand figure that I quoted was the figure in the study conducted by the Tomassone administration .. when they talked about creating an ambulance district in August 2009.
I am as alarmed as anyone else that REMS may have been billing for ALS and not sending the money to the town -- that is one issue. And I admit that it may influence my opinion on the tax district vote."
The "missing" ALS fees need to be investigated and if any wrong doing was committed all involved should be help accountable.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
Godlewski also questioned what REMS did with money it previously collected for the town’s paramedic service. He said REMS collected some fees for the paramedics under the previous administration but never turned any of the money over to the town. REMS board member Dean Ronca said the ambulance company collected the reimbursements with the permission of the previous administration while they tried to iron out a contract. At the time, REMS wasn’t receiving any money from the town and was facing insolvency, so the administration of Supervisor Steve Tommasone authorized the company to use the money to stay afloat. “They told us to go ahead and pay your bills with it and we’ll keep working forward to get a contract,” he said. Ronca said the company decided to stop billing after the change in administrations this year. He said the payments REMS was collecting previously shouldn’t have been any mystery to the new Town Board. “Nothing was intentionally hidden or kept secret,” he said. Regardless of when a contract is hammered out with REMS or Mohawk, the Town Board will be expecting at least one company to bill the paramedic service. Board members Nicola DiLeva, Matt Martin and Gerard Parisi passed an amendment that injects $100,000 into the 2011 budget from the reimbursements; both Godlewski and Del Gallo opposed the measure. DiLeva pressed Del Gallo to see the contract during the board’s meeting Wednesday. Del Gallo said the contract was irrelevant until after the referendum next month. “It doesn’t matter until we get the vote,” he said. But Martin took issue with waiting another month. He said the town could easily work out a billing agreement with REMS and Mohawk, then collect money from both. “If we have two ambulances in the town and both can bill for ALS, then why does the vote matter [on this issue]?” he asked.
So the RPD supplies the ALS service, which they can't bill for, but should be reimbursed to the town. Obviously it didn't happen.
And not only did the RPD have knowledge of this, apparently so did Godlewski, and the previous rotterdam town board. And one would have to believe that this present town board knew as well.
All rotterdamians should be storming their town hall with pitch forks and DEMANDING that this vote be canceled until a full investigation is done! Past and present heads should roll! IMHO of course!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I think a full investigation is needed .. and heads should roll if warranted. But I think that the vote has to take place .. so the ambulance district issue can be decided once and for all.
George Amedore & Christian Klueg for NYS Senate 2016 Pete Vroman for State Assembly 2016[/size][/color]
"For this is what America is all about. It is the uncrossed desert and the unclimbed ridge. It is the star that is not reached and the harvest that is sleeping in the unplowed ground." Lyndon Baines Johnson
I think a full investigation is needed .. and heads should roll if warranted. But I think that the vote has to take place .. so the ambulance district issue can be decided once and for all.
But I think that the vote has to take place .. so the ambulance district issue can be decided once and for all.
How the hell can you even consider a vote for a taxing district, that if the district passes would contract REMS as Rotterdam's provider? I would not even consider the REMS as our Town EMS provider if an investigation proves they knowingly partook in this. REMS cannot claim ignorance to the law. If they willingly collected Town fees without reporting them to the Town, they would be considered accomplices. Again, I base this on the little information the Gazette reported on the allegations.
If the REMS stopped collecting the ALS fees when the FDG Administration took office, where is that 11 months of ALS money now? Did the Chief inform this Administration of the ALS fees that the Town is eligable for? Isn't a dereliction of duty for the FDG Administration to not actively pursue the collection of this source of revenue over the past 11 months?
I think these recent revelations explain why Gerard and the Rotterdam Republicans booted Mertz. Mertz was publicly against the taxing district and probably was aware of these improprieties and pushed back even harder behind closed doors. Hence running the NNTP, and running directly against the REMS taxing district issue. I think things are going to get very interesting, as we begin finding out where ALL that ALS money ended up.IMO
Nah, not me A.S.S...Just a life long resident of the Town of Rotterdam. I'm a close observer and know how this cess pool works. The only people that get run out of office in Rotterdam are those that aren't on the take, or those on the take that get caught(Jimmy C.)
Will the local press picks up this story, investigate, and reports the findings to the public BEFORE the scheduled referendum is held? The independent press is supposed to expose corruption in government. The residents must be aware of the facts before being asked to take a position on the creation of a new tax district to fund REMS.
If Supervisor Del Gallo has integrity and if he is truly representing his constituents, he will do the honorable thing and postpone this vote until an investigation by state authorities is completed and the findings made public.
I would encourage the residents of the Town of Rotterdam to ask the NYS Attorney General's office to investigate. Obtain the video and/or the transcripts of the meeting and furnish it to the AG's offices and NYS Comptroller.
And, to Mr. Satchel, I have spoken in support of John Mertz on this board on several occasions. He is a friend. I respect him greatly, more than most who have held local elected office, past or present.
And, to Mr. Satchel, I have spoken in support of John Mertz on this board on several occasions. He is a friend. I respect him greatly, more than most who have held local elected office, past or present.
Rotterdam’s general fund allocates about $288,000 for 14 part-time paramedics, three full-time paramedics and supplies, according to the 2011 budget. The Police Department cannot legally bill patients for using the service, which is dispatched to most emergency calls.
ALS and BLS are entirely different animals.....why would we have to pay twice for ambulance service(ALS) when we already pay taxes for the police paramedic.....?????
Tea Party
if medicare billing was fraudulent we are in a heap of trouble......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
"For it is a truth, which the experience of all ages has attested, that the people are commonly most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those [toward] whom they entertain the least suspicion." (Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers, No. 25)
so true.....when a politician says to trust them....DONT!!!!!
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
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