Mayor Tito Brown needs to get serious about solving city problems. Just for background, AMR Ambulance in April asked for 625 thousand dollars to continue service in the city. The council flatly rejected the plea. In September AMR asked for $ 750 Thousand, that was also rejected. Now the cost to remain in the city is 1.8 million. Yes are private insurance fares, but they no longer cover the low reimbursement of Medicade.
Now it's They have made it clear by declaring they are ready to pull out if the city can't pay up. More proof, the city sent out requests for proposals and got no takers?
One can only conclude the council and Mayor Brown thought AMR was bluffing. Council for Life and Tito Brown should have built relationships with AMR and understood their dilemma of having to provide service while losing money. This cannot be that hard to comprehend.
i can only conclude the city thought the problem would go away. How hard would it be to ask AMR to provide actual costs vs. subsidies. They have been in the city for 30 years, there should be trust. If AMR is deemed unreasonable, calculate the cost of the fire department providing the service. Build a case to the taxpayers and begin the planning to take over ambulance service by the city.
Yes, it may be unfair to tell the city how to provide service, but looking at the situation from afar, it begs the question, "what have you been doing?" Something this important need not be argued in the basement of St. Patrick's church.
The hard work should have been done in a conference room on a flurry of Zoom or Teams calls with AMR. Short of that, a fact-finding mission to Denver AMR HQ. The Fire Chief should have provided a detailed plan to provide the service if an agreement could not be reached. What is to be accomplished in an open meeting except the bashing of the company that has provided ambulance service for 30 years. Even if you rally constituents against AMR, what does it contribute?
Where are the facts and figures, such as the cost to hire and train firemen and purchase ambulances for a city provided service. Any endeavor becomes clear with facts and figures rather than grandstanding. I saw Tito Brown in the mandatory TV clip intimate AMR is holding up the city. My question, are they? Prove it, give me the facts, or haven't you bothered to learn them?
Final thought, I think it makes sense for the fire department to provide emergency service, their is an obvious economy of scale for the cross trained safety forces. However, in the end, the facts and figures should dictate the day.
Dan Rivers
Mid Days
570 WKBN