and he has an axe to grind against the democrtas and perisi
he is also the only person i think that has ever said a positive thing about jon mertz on this blog
what dos everyonee think
Sorry A.S.Satchel (I like cicero's abbreviation ), but WHOEVER you think mertzie is, I think he was the best thing for rotterdam. He wasn't a home grown and didn't have a vowel after his name.
Mertzie's downfall was trying to change rotterdam's 'friends and family club' and work for the taxpayers ONLY! Mertzie tried to raise the bar and bring some sanity into the politics in rotterdam!
Had he only 'went along to get along'.......he'd probably still be serving rotterdam in some capacity.
Mertzie should be the rep chair!! 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
How much unaccounted for ALS money does it take to buy a politician(s) to attempt to pass a taxing district through permissive referendum? A few hundred thousand should be worth a life time of taxing authority.
Has anybody ever smelled a rotting corpse? This could be worse.
Next question...........were all of these 'billed' ALS calls really ALS calls? hmmmmmmmmm
Just askin'!
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
A 2007 proposal to merge REMS with the town-operated paramedic program never got off the ground. Proposed by Holdsworth Pelton, an EMS and fire department consulting firm, the proposed merger never gained support among town officials or the paramedics, a unionized force. Combining them with the non-union ambulance company was an obstacle the planners couldn’t overcome, and the idea was ultimately scrapped this fall.
Gazette 12/18/08
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The town already budgets roughly $470,000 in the general fund for a civilian paramedic service that operates out of the Rotterdam Police Department. Paramedics provide advanced life support and travel in sport utility vehicles dispatched from the police station; they are often the first to arrive on the scene of emergency calls, but are unable to take patients to area hospitals. REMS does the transport, billing insurance companies.
Quoted Text
Mertz was the only board member to oppose a resolution last week authorizing a $4,000 study to lay out the boundaries of a future ambulance district. “This could completely blow up,” he said this week of the costs associated with an ambulance district. “This could be the worst mistake the Town Board has made since I’ve been on it.”
Mertz suggested the board fund the town’s ambulance service through the general fund. This way, he said the board could better monitor the company’s budgeting. “If they really believe REMS is the best way to go, then why not pay for it out of the budget?” he asked. “Once you create [the ambulance district], you can never take it back.”
Gazette 1/15/09
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Joe VanDerwerker, the chairman of the ambulance company’s board, asked for a monthly contribution of $14,000 until town officials decide whether to support the move to create the district. He said delays in state Medicare payments coupled with the lingering debt hanging over the organization have driven it to the brink of insolvency.
An attorney for the town recently completed a study to determine the area of the proposed ambulance district. But even if the district is created, it isn’t likely to provide funding for REMS until 2010. Providing funds to the ambulance service in advance of the district’s creation could also be tricky, warned Supervisor Steve Tommasone. The town needed to dip into its fund balance this year to offset a property tax increase that was included in the preliminary 2009 budget
Press Release 1/27/09
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Mohawk Ambulance Offers to Bail Out Rotterdam EMS In 2008, Mohawk Answered 337 Calls in Rotterdam
Rotterdam, New York (January 26, 2009) – Mohawk Ambulance Services (MAS) is proposing a solution to permanently fix Rotterdam's Ambulance needs at no cost to Rotterdam taxpayers. Mohawk officials said that this plan ensures that Rotterdam taxpayers are not burdened with additional taxes. Rotterdam EMS (REMS) has requested $14,000 per month payment from the Town until the creation of a permanent special taxing district to support the Ambulance service. Under MAS' plan, neither taxpayer funded measures would be required.
Under the proposal Rotterdam EMS has presented to the Town, the $14,000 per month would be paid to REMS until a special tax district can be set-up.
Gazette 1/30/09
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Town officials are expected to discuss funding for REMS during their agenda meeting Thursday. Tommasone said he would fi nd money for the service somewhere in the 2009 budget.
Spotlight 2/6/09
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At a Rotterdam Town Board Meeting tonight, the board voted unanimously to enter into a contract with Rotterdam EMS. They dismissed a proposal from Mohawk Ambulance.
The agreement will be effective until Thursday, Dec. 31. The town will compensate the REMS with a monthly payment of $10,000.
There was concern that the Town of Rotterdam would have to create a new taxing district to fund REMS, but Town of Rotterdam Supervisor Steve Tommasone said that this is not the case.
"Tonight we’re not here to commission a taxing district, we’re here to commission service and we’re making sure we have money in our budget to do that," said Tommasone.
He confirmed during the meeting that there are funds from the 2009 budget that will be able to cover the cost of REMS................
Gazette 7/11/09
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ROTTERDAM — Rotterdam’s only nonprofit ambulance corps has a pulse, and it’s growing stronger. After years of tumult, the Rotterdam Emergency Medical Services Inc. has placed a second ambulance on the road and now is showing signs of vitality. With the aid of town funding, the company is also starting to chip away at the debt it accrued over the course of nearly five years of financial despair, reported Joe VanDerwerker, the president of REMS’s Board of Directors, during a Town Board meeting. “REMS is in pretty good shape,” he said Wednesday. VanDerwerker said the company has reduced its fuel debt to the town to $15,000 and anticipates paying the amount in full within 10 months. He said REMS is also paying the Internal Revenue Service $2,000 per month while the company works out a settlement with the agency. The company has also grown considerably in size. VanDerwerker said REMS now employs 42 workers, which is up from the 16 employees it retained when he became president of the board.
Gazette 12/13/09
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“It would have been nice if the current administration would have invited us into any discussion before they issued that contract,” he said. “They did not.” Godlewski also questioned why the outgoing administration didn’t act quicker on the issue and why they seemed content to postpone a decision on the referendum. He said the Republicans had nearly a year to schedule a vote, but waited. “The question is why did they drag their feet,” he said. “We’ve inherited a decision that should have been done on their watch.”
Gazette 5/25/10
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When Mr. [former Supervisor Steve] Tommasone and the town board were pressured by me to establish the ambulance district that had been talked about since 2003, and residents favored in a questionnaire sent out by REMS 2-1, he came under political pressure to let the voters decide, not the board. They finally did make a resolution to put it to a vote. The so-called “No New Tax Party” had no influence on their decision. REMS does not currently operate in a deficit, as Mr. McGarry stated. Yes, we are paying off the incurred IRS debt, but the amount he quoted is around $62,000 higher than the settlement agreement. JOE VANDERWERKER Rotterdam The writer is president of the Board of Directors for REMS and past chief of Rotterdam Fire District No. 3.
Gazette 11/12/10
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Rotterdam is losing thousands of dollars each month that the Town Board does not ratify an advanced life support billing agreement with its nonprofit ambulance service, even though one was drawn up more than four months ago 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.
What is most interesting about the chronology of events is on 1/15/09 VanDerwerker was pleading to the Town Board for $14K a month just to make payroll. The Town Board grants REMS $10K per month on 2/5/09. Then in a statement on 7/11/09, VenDerwerker says that REMS put an extra ambulance on the road and increased the workforce from 16 when he became president to 42 now. In 5 months, REMS went from begging for $14K - to doubling the workforce and adding a second ambulance.
What does Joe VanDerwerker have to say about the allegations that REMS didn't reimburse the Town of Rotterdam for payments billed and received for ALS services? An investigation is warranted. Several individuals mentioned in postings to this thread need to be deposed.
Why do we need 42 REMS members to handle the BLS service that they provide? If the residents of this town can't see how funding the REMS thru a tax district will explode into an ever increasing burden on the taxpayer have them read the above post. At least by funding REMS thru the budget when the cost gets out of control it can be corrected or terminated but with a tax district your stuck with it.
Mertz was the only board member to oppose a resolution last week authorizing a $4,000 study to lay out the boundaries of a future ambulance district. “This could completely blow up,” he said this week of the costs associated with an ambulance district. “This could be the worst mistake the Town Board has made since I’ve been on it.”
Mertz suggested the board fund the town’s ambulance service through the general fund. This way, he said the board could better monitor the company’s budgeting. “If they really believe REMS is the best way to go, then why not pay for it out of the budget?” he asked. “Once you create [the ambulance district], you can never take it back.”
Again mertz was the only voice of reason in rotterdam!
How rotterdamians can NOT be storming their town hall with pitchforks after reading cicero's post is beyond anyone's common sense.
If this vote is not canceled until there is a thorough investigation, rotterdam's entire town board should be voted out!!
Where is the media coverage here?? Where is the investigative reporting??
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
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.
Based on the timeline;
1/15/09 VanDerwerker asked for money from the Town in the amount of $14K per month to stay afloat.
2/5/09 the Town Board unanimously agreed to $10K per month.
2/5/09 I assume the REMS began receiving the $10K per month from the Town or shortly there after.
2/6/09(the day after the vote) all ALS reciepts should have been turned over to the Town...Correct?
Now this Ronca says the REMS were authorized to collected the ALS fees while waiting for the Boards to "iron out a contract" for the REMS. I'm assuming that means waiting until the Board decides on how much to subsidize them. According to Ronca's quote in the Gazette, REMS should have only been collecting ALS fees from 1/15/09 - 2/6/09 Why did REMS wait until the change of Administrations instead of the so called agreement of "while they tried to iron out a contract" to stop collecting ALS fees?
There better be a receipt for every penny of ALS revenue collected by REMS. How do we know where this money spent? The Town of Rotterdam just gives tax dollars to non-profits outside of the budget and lets them spend it as they see fit? Wouldn't allowing the REMS to collect fees that belong to the Town require a vote? The best part is Bob God, FDG and Gerard and Chief Hamilton knew about this since at least the summer, and didn't take issue with it, and continued to go full steam ahead with a referendum for the taxing district.
I'm not a legal scholar, but I do follow politics. To me, it seems as if the Rotterdam taxpayer has been getting robbed of tax revenue by redirecting it to a private business without the vote of the Town Board. It looks as if the Chief decided to blow the whistle on Gerard and the Tommasone Administration after Gerard pulled off the budget coup, gutting the money allocated to the RPD including the nice raise for Hamilton.
Nobody's going to come out of this looking good. They're all crooks. Pay attention Rotterdam!
Cicero:
I don't see where a single word you say is even close to reality. At the last town board meeting it was stated that REMS has been collecting ALS fees for many many years. As far as Gerard pulling off a budget coup, gutting money from the police budget and raises for Hamilton- where do you get your information? There were no raises for police discussed or taken out of any budget and how much was "gutted" from the 14 million dollar budget- probably half of which is the police. You are completely in the dark. Truth is- every town board over the years was aware of REMs collecting for ALS. The chief blew the whistle on Tommasone and Parisi and the police budget was gutted and raises were taken away?
What world are you living in? You obviously were not at the last meeting.
Again mertz was the only voice of reason in rotterdam!
How rotterdamians can NOT be storming their town hall with pitchforks after reading cicero's post is beyond anyone's common sense.
If this vote is not canceled until there is a thorough investigation, rotterdam's entire town board should be voted out!!
Where is the media coverage here?? Where is the investigative reporting??
Yes, Mertz is the only voice of reason and for the 2 years or 4 years he was on the board and was Police Commissioner-he had no idea REMS was billing for ALS. No idea that 2 years ($300,000) or 4 yrs ($600,000) in revenue was left to REMS, instead of given back to the Rotterdam taxpayers. Sounds like a real scholar to me. A real voice of reason.
What world are you living in? You obviously were not at the last meeting.
You are correct I wasn't at the last meeting, the only information I have to go by is the Gazette. The quote in Gazette that makes me believe REMS may have been in a gray area billing ALS fees is this;
Quoted Text
Ronca said the company decided to stop billing after the change in administrations this year.
Why did REMS just decide to stop billing ALS at the change of Administrations? If this was going on for years, why the sudden stop? Rotterdam faced with a 7.8% increase in taxes, you would think collecting the hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue would be a priority.
Also in the Gazette, Bob God was quoted questioning where the ALS money was spent.
Pappa if you could shed more light on the situation, and help get the facts straight would be appreciated.
Why do we need 42 REMS members to handle the BLS service that they provide? If the residents of this town can't see how funding the REMS thru a tax district will explode into an ever increasing burden on the taxpayer have them read the above post. At least by funding REMS thru the budget when the cost gets out of control it can be corrected or terminated but with a tax district your stuck with it.
The last count was actually more than 60 employees. When I asked why REMS needs so many employees to run two ambulances for BLS only, Joe V. said they were part-timers. Even if they were ALL part time, which they are not, how can you justify such a bloated work force?? And employee salaries and benefits are not the only explosive elements of such an operation.
Quoted from gadfly: The last count was actually more than 60 employees.
Are these all medical staff or does that number include administration? Are there 60 people on payroll and the same number of employees? Does this include legal counsel, consultants, etc?
), but WHOEVER you think mertzie is, I think he was the best thing for rotterdam. He wasn't a home grown and didn't have a vowel after his name. 
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