Ambulance Clarification

Thank You Rosemary for giving us a different look on the situation. Your the first member of City Council who has offered a calm, and believable story as to this issues. You have always truely cared about the people of Batavia, and also have never been afraid to stand up to some of those who could care less about us, and are just in it to line their pockets. I really feel sorry for our local EMT's and their familys. Those who will be out of a job Sept.1st. I would also like to thank the City Ambulance for their efforts in keeping our town a safe place to live. I can't wait to see what the independant ambulance service is going to soak the city for. This is all such a shame. I hope the truth will come out about the missused money too.The missing 100G out of the general fund that can't be accounted for, but with a little digging, Im sure we could prove the missuse. Thanks again for your dediction RoseMary.

Just in it to line their pockets? Do you have any idea what a City Council member makes?

Thanks Rosemary. Doesn't even pay the cable bill!

Rosemary I didn't mean you, line your pockets, I meant other city managers. Now after a breif visit to the local grocery store I have some new interesting ideas that I am putting together. I was thanking Rosemary because she is the only one with the nerve to say what everyone else is afraid too.

Karen-Did you read what Rosemary wrote? She just backed Charlie up. The County will be providing the service, not the city.

Read the article that was just submitted as well about the highest paid people in the city.

By the way, all of the people involved, the City Manager and City Staff and the Council Members put tireless hours into running the city.

If one wants to disagree with them that's fine, but what has been going on is defamation.

defamation??? This site is about opinion, and I have never labeled anyone. I have been drivin by what people have been telling me. People who have seen the Audit, and work hard for this city. Things are very fishy all over the United states. Misused funds,higher-ups not paying their taxes, going on vacation at the expence of the taxpayers, raises, perks, bonuses.. The worlds changing, finally we the people have a voice!!

Karen, you said that these people are in it to "line their pockets"...that's just a bit over the top, don't you think?

No Dan its fact, and I was told if you could see the audit it can be proven.{From What I was Told} 100g's were taken out of the general fund, when their was a surplus in the ambulance fund, and no need for it. Now the money is mysteriously unaccounted for...Ive been inquiring for weeks, and have been sidelined.

Karen - maybe you shouldn't be getting your facts at the grocery store.

Beth are you the secretary for these guys?? cause you have been trying to get us to stop talking about this. Remember {Its all water under the bridge} right? Not Now are you going to judge me for going to the grocery store, or sporting event,whats next

Karen-"At the close of Fiscal Year 2007/2008 the ambulance fund had approximately $1,276,350 in interfund loans due to the general fund. This has been caused by the ambulance fund continually not covering annual expenses with yearly revenue."-The 2009-2010 Budget Message.

www.batavianewyork.com

I also do not believe an auditor who has been hired by the union, clearly he or she is going to end up with the result that they wanted

Karen: You said "Now after a breif (sic) visit to the local grocery store I have some new "Facts" that I am putting together". I merely stated that maybe you shouldn't be getting your facts from the grocery store.

I am not a secretary for any of them.

Am I really speaking with you Dan or are you using an assumed name?? You just never know on this site anymore. LOL

Proof of my existance:
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Check out the other video's above. I like Greg's the best!! Beth, don't you want to know how your hard earned tax dollars are being spent?? Don't you care about budget cuts??? School and education cuts, ambulance cuts, whats next firemen and law inforcement. There needs to be a housecleaning. I just disagree with it all as a whole. I look at the big picture.

Aww, I Love when I can put a face with a name. You seem like a good guy and I think you mean well.

I do want to know how my tax dollars are being spent but I prefer to look at the budget rather than get the information at the grocery store.

Yes, Karen, I mean well and wants whats best for the City. The Council's vote to end a service that was unaffordable is in the best interest of the city according to the facts and numbers.

I don't get my facts at sporting events or grocery stores either.

Then where do you get them?? Have you seen the audit??? Are you saying that people in a grocery store arent real, inteligent people?? That people at our schools sporting events don't know what they are talking about?? Sorry I have to go pick-up my lovely little girl from the silly school of people who don't know what their talking about LOL Please This is the real world. They are real people.

www.batavianewyork.com

The actual city website, has the budget information there. The audit that the union keeps referring too was an audit conducted by and hired by them. The auditor of course was going to give them the outcome that they wanted.

When it comes to budgeting, I don't believe it just because someone tells me so, I check out the facts.

Pretty sure I didn't say any of that.

Just remember people, comes to voting time, vote out all the council people you don't like,

When the City’s independent auditor comes to City Council, it is announced in the meeting agenda ahead of time. The report done in public and anyone who wants to attend can. Copies can be seen then and you can get a copy all of the past ones from the city if you want.

I am not sure if there is a copying charge or not.

There is no argument that money from the Water and Sewer funds were moved around to the general fund. The audits show that. It was wrong and it helped hide the debt we had. It was only stopped after the most ones that allowed it were voted out of office.

Dan, are you saying whoever hires an auditor is going to get the results they want to see? And, if so, when the city hires an auditor every year to look at their books the auditor will just tell them what they want to see/hear? What is the point then?

Or are you saying this auditing firm just printed false information and wants to jeopardize their reputation/practice?

Good point Chad. That statement was a little confusing to me too. Are you calling the auditors liars??

http://thedailynewsonline.com/articles/2009/03/03/news/5232306.txt

I'm not sure about a liar, but after reading the article above, certainly out of step with what was actually going on. The major difference is that the City's auditor is an independent auditor, Freed Maxick and Battaglia, and is used and respected with local governments.

here's an idea how about we stop dwelling on the fact of how much money the city has lost because of the ambulance service and start working on ideas on how to improve the service even more by slipping 200,000.00 into a "general fund" maybe that would be a win,win situation.lets face it at times like this we dont need "curb appeal" we need public saftey.The President is right lets cap the salarys of public employees and not let them benefit from it,they are working for the good of the city right? well then lets show spirit.no raises are needed.we should all just be thankful we have jobs,but by taking away the ambulance service you also will be taking jobs away from people who may not find employment some where else.Way to go ! thats what we need more increase to the uneployment levels.but then again it is the final answer according to city council.we may get service from another provider but i know it won't be like the one we have.This is a big issue a very Big ISSUE and i do have a problem with it.You should be concerned!very concerned!!for all of you city council i just ask one thing-take a listen to a scanner for one week.then see how many times they are called out for emergency's,standbys,lifting assistance , transports.we have a pretty good system going.How many of the new ambulances are going to sit in a parking lots of batavia?oh thats 2 questions.lol that's pretty great of you to look after our city,stop the saftey services and not have a back up,oh did i say backup.do you have that backed up yet,i dont believe so and this should be voted by the people of batavia not by rep. for our district.scaring the elderly? how about my eight year old,why are they going to get rid of it,because i said they dont want to fight for it!!well what if there's children in a bus accident she asked?and 4 kids get hurt and the bus driver?well you better hope there's 4 ambulances sitting in a parking lot somewhere to help these children and driver or maybe call "leroy" to help and arrive 15 mins later hopefully time is on these childrens side and "grandma jones " isnt having a heart attack at the same time.it may be a toss up!!sounds quite dramatic but yet very possible!!here's to your 4 day vote process!!!!!!!!

Hysteria and Fear is not going to carry the day. Jay, that mess you just wrote sums up the worst fear campaign I have ever heard. Shame is all the union should feel at this point. The elderly are not enough? Now children in school bus accidents? Sick, just sick.

"Grandma Jones", seriously man? Using my grandmother as an example?

Pathetic.

To all of those in favor of ending the city of Batavia Ambulance service; remember that you get what you pay for.
After looking at all of the pros and cons; it is very evident to me that the City Council at the direction of City Manager Jason Molino is making a BIG mistake in dissolving the ambulance service.

mr.mallow
let me clarify this. my 8 year old child is the one that asked about the bus situation.and i do not think this is sick at all. im not trying for fear and hysteria. i just want answers on how this is going to work out. i know the answer. its the only one city council knows. answer is it will all work out. i dont think it will.

Good luck with this Jay. All Charlie can do is insult us "Normal People" all day on his computer at work. Yes thats right are your superiors aware that they are paying you to sit around and argue and insult intelegent people with intelegent things to say all day?? On their clock??? He's like a wild cat in a corner right now, and has managed to pass the buck once again. On too bashing our FireFighters. It wasn't enough that the issue was passed on to the county. Look Charlie, do me a favor and just give the people what they want "OUR CITY AMBULANCE SERVICE BACK" then maybe we can get on with our lives.

Karen: You say: "Yes thats (sic) right are your superiors aware that they are paying you to sit around and argue and insult intelegent (sic) people with intelegent (sic) things to say all day?? On their clock??? He's like a wild cat in a corner right now, and has managed to pass the buck once again. On too (sic) bashing our FireFighters".

I have never once heard or seen Charlie insult anyone. He has merely tried to get his point across. ALL of the council members were of the same opinion that we could no longer continue to provide this service for the county. Are they ALL wrong. No. It was a tough decision but, in the end, it had to be done. The county is making sure that we will have service.

It had to be done?? I have "heard" nothing from either of these men explaining why they voted the ambulance out, nor have "I heard" why they voted so quickly. Oh and what the H does {sic} mean??

Hang on a few I'm going together a list of insults for you. It may take a while.

sic - to indicate that an incorrect or unusual spelling, phrase, punctuation, and/or other preceding quoted material has been reproduced verbatim from the quoted original and is not a transcription error

How come Mr. Mallow gets all your wrath? Eight other people voted to discontinue the service as well. Where's your outrage for them?

Good question Andrew. If you look at the top of this post, it was posted by Rose Mary Christian. Although she backs up Charlie's position, Karen thanks her and states that "she is the only one with the nerve to say what everyone else is afraid too (sic)". Karen - she agreed with Charlie! All council members apparently did because they all voted to discontinue the service. We simply can no longer afford it.

Who's "we" Beth, we couldn't afford it anymore. But we can afford an independant service? Why was it done so quickly and why were the city residence blindsided and did not know of this until they had no choice in the matter?

"....we couldn't afford it anymore. But we can afford an independant service?"

That makes no sense at all. The city as an entity won't be paying for the salaries or benefits packages of employees working for a private ambulance service. Sounds like a savings to me.

I just think the council shouldnt have been so speedy in their decision. Maybe should have researched the whole issue a little more than they did. Independent contracts for ambulance services can then raise their rates every year after their deal, and there will be nothing we can do, but keep paying the ole bill.

So, you'd prefer to have the city eat the increased fees needed to perform the services, rather than the actual end-users?

No, I just wish they would have stuck to our local ambulance service, and tryed to better the situation. Work with our honorable local Emergency services, and come to an agreement that all are happy with, and that would have been fair for all. Instead these people and their familys futures have been shattered.

Call an ambulance for the ambulance. ERRRRGH how long all y'all gonna keep kickin on this dead horse. What the citys saying is ya can't have the ambulance cause the fire dept. gouges overtime.

Why doesn't the county just take it over ...Just change the names on all the Ambulance's from city of Batavia to Genesee County...Transfer all the EMT's to the county and then the whole county will share in the costs..They did it with the dispatchers,every thing seemed to work out fine..I think it's wrong for the Union to make the city of Batavia taxpayers feel guilty for not wanting to carry the burden of this county wide service..

Sorry Richard if this is all getting old. So many people have been Beepin in my ear lately. I just want our local, familiar, trustworthy, hardworking EMT's back. There is no need to seek services outside of Batavia,when we have a FINE staff here.

Karen, so let me get this straight. I’m asked questions, then I do my best to answer these questions but, you don’t like my answers so, you attack me? Would you rather everyone just got their answers from the super market, as you do?

You’re also right; I work all day trying to support my family. This year I am one of the lucky ones to still have a job but, I get no overtime, no raises, no 401K match, no full paid medical benefits, no retirement and drive to Rochester everyday and back for the privilege. Then most nights I do my best for the city and on off nights I spend time with wife and two boys but, I’m not one of Karen’s “normal” people. Who are these normal people?

I’m not some distant politician you should feel comfortable insulting. I live a few blocks from most of you and I’m as hard working as any person you know.

Would you rather everyone just got their answers from the super market, as you do?{These are real people not the supermarket silly.}Then why do you insult the ones who have been filling me in. How do you know that their not one of you?? You keep bringing up the supermarket. Is that all you got??

No, I just wish they would have stuck to our local ambulance service, and tryed to better the situation. Work with our honorable local Emergency services, and come to an agreement that all are happy with, and that would have been fair for all. Instead these people and their familys futures have been shattered.

"Your not one of Karen's normal people", because you think your above everyone else, and did not consider familys and such when you made your decision.

I apparently missed something somewhere along the line Karen. Why are you the "go to" person for community news and problem-solving at the supermarket? It seems to me if you have this innate ability that causes people to seek you out you should run for office at some level and actually work to solve all these issues.

Jay,
A point. The President did not say cap public employee salaries. He said he wants some caps on private business people who got bail outs.

City Council did not and has not had any pay raise in more than 10 years.

Jean,
Jason Molino did not tell Council to end the ambulance service, Council told him to do it.

Karen,
You might not agree with the reasons Charlie and others gave for ending the service, it’s clear others don’t either. But to say you have not “heard” anything from them about why means you did not go to most Council meetings in the last four years.

This issue has been debated by Council on and off for over four (4) years. I don’t know what you consider “speedy”, but 4 years is a long time. And they have put their reasons on this site, the Daily News web site and in the paper. The problem is that most people do not and will not attend Council meetings. They might go to a few when fired up, but most of the time they don’t. Where were you?

Karen, I keep bringing up the super market because, you insulted me. You told me that someone there had all the secret facts. I wish this person would run for office and help out because, this isn't getting any easier.

We don’t disagree on the fact that people loosing their jobs is a real bad thing especially now. You need to look at things from my point of view. I can’t raise people’s taxes anymore, they already can’t afford it. Heck, I can’t afford my own taxes either. I’m not the bad guy because; I’m in the position of making some real tough calls. Someone has to right now.

You can say what you want but, 8 other “normal” people on Council agree with me as well. They do Not because, they enjoy turning people’s live upside down either.

Mark,
The County has said it wants nothing to do with this service. They think it will run up taxes and debt. They also refuse to help the city pay for the ambulance service so we could keep it.

Don't take my word for it, call your legislator. Just pick up the phone and make the call.

Working, as I have since I was 18. For the first time in my life, I'm not working, and am sorry I ever stumbled on to this site. As for the ones that confide in me with their concerns,I have been a public servant of this city for many years. Yes A Waitress,{12 yrs at Alex's Place,gave my 2 weeks, and went to The Beach with Alex, for a year and a half. I was always Honest, hardworking, and tolerant of all. I cant wait to be bashed for that either. I have over the years, had a chance to meet some great people.People like you John who are unselfish, and truely care. This debate though out of my league, has sparked much interest.

Karen,
No debate is ever over your head.

The truth is most people are too busy to keep track of everything going on. Jobs, kids, no job, school, just everyday life. That’s why we elect other people to do this stuff for us. Most of the time, as long as taxes do not go up, everyone is happy.

Some of us like Mark, Russ and Dan Jones enjoy politics and pay more attention than most. That’s why we know this ending the ambulance service debate is really over 4 years old. It just finally came to a vote.

I know Karen personally and she has a heart of gold and always tries to see the good in everybody..She a beautiful person and great friend..

Thank You for clearing this up for me. I thought this decision was a hasty one. Its probably time to sign off on this, out of respect for people like you John. You have more than {earned} your respect in this community. I have too, seen the true colors in others. I know this will all come out in the wash some day. The Meak Shall Inherit The Earth, Right?,and The Truth Will Provail, we hope.
Peace and Love,
Karen

Thank You Mark!! I miss all of my customers, and friends.
Muah!

No offense Karen but a waitress is not a public servant. Charlie, Rose Mary and John are public servants. Serving the public is not the same as being a public servant. I'm not sure which one is harder though. I know I could never be a waitress. Someone would end up with their meal in their lap.

I would bet dimes to dollars her job is/was harder.

Maybe so, but Mr. Mallow's paid far less, thus the apparent need to skim hundreds of thousands of dollars from the ambulance budget and line his pockets. (Or so the wild accusations at the grocery store claim.) This is what's confusing. If he's lining his pockets, wouldn't he want the service to continue as is? It's almost as if he and the other council members were making a rational decision based on what the believe is best for the residents of the City of Batavia. Hmmmmm.

Once again with due respect to a council person, Mrs. Christian I would like to discuss the statement that you made that we are greedy employees. It has been the most insulting statement thrown my way since this all started. The contract was negotiated in good faith. It was agreed upon by the Union, the City Manager and City Council. My copy of the contract has Mr. Ferrandos' signature on it dated 9-4-2007. By signing the contract he agreed for the council body that the contract was acceptable to all the people involved. We have worked under good faith with that contract. It is good until March 31, 2011.

Any greed that you state that we are showing is tied to honoring that contract to us and the citizens of the City of Batavia. No matter public or private sector, would you not be happy if you were informed that no matter what agreement has transpired that it would not be honored. You would be out of a job and that is too bad. I have no choice but to ride this storm. I have pledged my committment to the people of this county. They are important to me.

The greed you elude to is the amount of money we make. The unfair part of publicly listing the wages of the top 15 money earning employees is that it does not have any explaination as to what made those numbers that large. How many hours of it was overtime taking classes at the Fire Academy, teaching the EMT classes at the senior center, working overtime shifts for open postions that the city did not fill for months on end. Times when any of the firemen are away in NYC for Officer Training School or they are in Maryland they can't come home each night. They are paid only for the time they are in class. They are away from their families for weeks and sometimes a month at a time. They have spouses, children, houses and needs. Factor that in too.

Just because there was an unfilled postion did not mean that there was not the need for the employee. Lets use the ambulance for example, you need two people to operate it. One as the driver and one as the medic. Seems a simple explaination but that is where some of the overtime has been accrued. There is a two man rule for entering a burning structure. Two men in and two waiting at the entrance to enter and extract the firemen if they run into danger. One fireman can't rescue two at the same time. I could go on but I believe that you get the gist. Due to the way that the medics pay shedule works there are many weeks that we only work 30 - 38 hours. Even when we pick up an overtime shift, it has a good chance of being at straight time. We actually save the City of Batavia money by working the shifts. If they had to hire more medics then they would have to pay more benefits. They have me working for the price of one person however filling 1 1/2 positions.

I have one paid job. That is being an employee for the City of Batavia Fire Department as a Paramedic. I have taken great pride as all the medics have to hold that job. Many of our most recent hires took significant wage cuts from the private sector to come here. They did it because of the way this system operated and the benefits. They saw a place where the employees were happy. Turnover was slower then other employers and they were respected. At this point, they are austrocized from the past employer because they left. Now they may have no where to go. They however show up as they are supposed to and they do the job they agreed to do for you. There is a big difference between greed and agreed.

If we are going to debate wages then I say this. The battle is over the ambulance service. Please don't muddy the water with figures for the firemen. Post mine if you wish with one condition. Post it with the wage I earned, the time it took at takes to maintain that certification, the number of years I have been employed with the City of Batavia, my benefits which are part of the taxable wage such as uniform allowance etc., and the number of hours I actually worked. I am way over the 2,000 hours mark yet the wage isn't huge. I would also ask that you find out how much time I and other medics have into special committees at the request of the chief or the City Manager. Don't get me wrong, if asked tomorrow I would do it again. Then ask how many hours I spend outside of the city of Batavia FD representing the department and therefore the City of Batavia at my own "expense". There is no compensation. I do it for the benefit of the community. Some of the best pay I have received isn't monetary, it is with a thank you. I wouldn't change that either.

The same can be said for the firemen. They deserve alot more respect then they are currently receiving. Angry as you might be, please don't place the blame solely on us. We all signed the contract.

Mr. Jones - You are essentially calling Kevin Decker a liar. He is a professional that makes a living doing Forensic Auditing. If he did a poor job he wouldn't be making a living at it at all. Just because you don't agree with the results he came to doesn't mean they are wrong. By the way if you read the audit the questions he raised were darn similar to the questions raised by the state auditor. No one has gotten the answer to why the money was transferred and how the amount was determined. Be careful when you start to judge someone that you have all the facts. Not just the ones feed to you.

The state backed up the local firm of Freed, Maxick and Battaglia, I believe them.

I never called anyone a liar either.

"So everyone", Who got the raises last night at the Charlie's Stimulus meeting?? What a Mockery! Seems to me there's only one thing on their mind, money. Oh and weren't we told we would never have water rate increases?? How many times has our water bill been raised?? So let me get this straight. Batavia couldn't afford the ambulance, fixing our city streets, now non union members are getting a raise????, IN A FINANCIAL CRISIS?
Am I correct???
This town is going to hell in a handcart. So Charlie got to shoot down other members of the council again. I just don't understand where their priorities lie??? I can't beleive this is all our council members could discuss, and vote on. Was there nothing else that was more important then someone getting more of the people's $$ to line their pockets some more, in these hard times. UNREAL!

Cawww Cawww- watch out folks Chalie, Beth and Andy should be swooping in soon to eat their kill, me! LOL
What would have become of me at the meeting last night?? I would have been beating a dead horse with the rest of them. No thank you! I won't break bread with any of the ones who only have their intrests in mind, not ours. I won't lie down in a den of lions, will you?