Township EMS cancellation could lead to deficit, layoffs WATCH ARCHIVE FOOTAGE
By
Brandy Chandler-brandychandler@gmail.com
Leaders in seven area townships say they were surprised to receive notice from the city of Hillsboro that their EMS services will be canceled as of June 30, despite having a signed contract that stated the city would provide the services to the end of 2011. Members of the Hillsboro City Council were also surprised of the notice given to the townships, and say they had no prior knowledge of the action.
Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Ralph Holt said that canceling the services is a necessity for the city in order to have enough funds to make it through to the rest of the year. The budget Hillsboro City Council passed in February does not give him enough funds to manage the operations of the city, he said, and action had to be taken. Canceling the contracts would cut the workload for Hillsboro Fire and Rescue in half, Holt said, allowing the city to lay off six part-time firefighters.
Holt sent a letter March 17 to the seven townships that receive fire and EMS coverage from the city, stating that services would be canceled within 90 days.
However, some city officials think the move could lead to deficit spending for the city.
Negotiations between the city and Hamer, Jackson, Liberty, New Market, Paint, Penn and Washington townships dominated city business during the last half of 2010.
The city previously had not included EMS charges in the fire contracts. In May, when the city proposed new contracts to the townships, they included EMS charges. That initial contract proposal to the townships had increases in services between 42 percent and 76.34 percent for the individual townships. The Ohio revised code prohibits levy funds designated to pay for fire services to be used for EMS services. Most of the townships have indicated they will need to take the issue of a separate EMS levy to the voters.
With Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey, who is legal counsel to the townships, negotiating, they proposed a 12 percent increase over the 2010 rates, and the city of Hillsboro made a counter proposal of 18 percent over the 2010 fire contract rate and providing EMS services until June 1, 2011.
After that date, the city said it would charge the township $637 for each EMS run.
The townships submitted a letter to the city, dated Nov. 16, saying they would agree to the 18 percent increase in 2011 for the fire contract only provided, however, that the city of Hillsboro continue to provide EMS services to the townships at no extra charge through, and including, Dec. 31, 2011. Council voted 5-2 to accept the contract, with council members Rod Daniels and Mary Brown Turner voting against it.
During that meeting, Council president Lee Koogler said that the contract, “is not a fix, it’s hopefully a bridge to get us to a fix.”
Koogler told The Highland County Press this week that council had not been informed by Holt of his intent to cancel the contracts.
“I called the auditor to ask if there had been a change to the budget to warrant canceling the contracts,” Koogler said. “What we bill out on EMS services for half a year is $110,000 to $120,000 in potential revenue or at least get in collections. If something happens that would merit the loss of the fire contract, that creates another potential loss of $220,000 to $230,000 in the budget we passed.”
Koogler said that with the city’s projected carryover into 2012 of $70,000, a loss of $230,000 would “certainly” create a deficit for the city. Grandey told The Highland County Press that he is still reviewing the contracts and examining options for the townships.
“(The city) did exactly what they initially said they were going to do,” Grandey said. “I’m still looking into options, so it’s hard to comment. I need to get all our people together to discuss things. My own personal opinion – and not the opinion of the people I represent – is that trust means nothing anymore. Some people are just going to do what they want.”
Holt said that the matter could have been worked out if the townships were willing to get together with the city, individually.
Township representatives, who declined to officially comment for this story, said they have not been asked since last May to individually discuss the contracts with the city. They were under the impression that the contract council approved in November 2011 was still valid, and that negotiations between Grandey and the city were for the 2012 contract were ongoing.
That contract contains a clause that allows the services to be canceled as long as there is a 90-day notice given.
Holt said that no township representative has contacted him since the letter was sent regarding the cancellation of services.
Council member Peter Pence said that he did not know of Holt’s intent to cancel the contracts until after the letter was sent out. However, after discussing the matter with Hillsboro Law Director Fred Beery, Pence said he understands why it was done.
“What I’ve been told is that they want to negotiate as a group,” Pence said. “This isn’t collective bargaining. Each township is their own individual entity and that’s how they need to be negotiating. We already have three unions in the city. We’re not going to negotiate with the townships in that manner.”
Pence said that the city’s recent vote to reject the finding of fact in ongoing negotiations between the city’s police and fire unions have put the city in a financial uncertainty. “I think the intent of issuing the notices (to the townships) is so if the city ends up in a position where we are forced into some sort of arrangement with binding arbitration – assuming we don’t get something worked out in conciliation – the way the township contracts were written, we have to give 90 days notice, even if it’s due to a financial hardship.”
Financial hardship, and the cancellation of the contracts, could lead to layoffs, Pence said. “If the city discontinues services to the townships for EMS I think the door is still wide open for having the possibility of laying off full-time firefighter/EMTs within that department. The bottom line is, it’s frustrating because we have ongoing negotiations (with police and fire unions) and we don’t know exactly where we’re at. We know what our projected carryover balance is, approximately $70,000. But if we end up in binding arbitration and they say, “You’ve got to pay this percentage of a pay increase for the rest of the year, and then this much next year,” then there goes our carryover.”
Pence said that the city and the townships need to come to some sort of long-term solution so that the townships are paying for the services they are receiving. "My hope is that the township trustees will come in and talk to Ralph and get something worked out that can benefit both.”
Council member Dave Shoemaker said that he was not initially aware that the contracts were being cancelled and he initially was against the action. “To just pass (fire contracts) a couple of meetings ago, and then to take it away is not my idea of fair play,” Shoemaker said.
However, after discussing the issue with other officials and hearing Beery’s explanation to Pence, Shoemaker said he gained a better understanding of the reasoning behind Holt’s actions, and can see why that was the route he decided to take. “It would have been nice to have heard, ‘This is what I am going to do and this is why,’” Shoemaker said. “Because now that I find out the reasoning why, it makes perfect sense to me to have the letter sent out.”
When asked by The Highland County Press how the canceling of the EMS services could impact the FOP and IAFF negotiations, Holt said that one thing did not have to do with the other.
Holt said the city’s budget, which was passed by council in February after the city administration cut $400,000 in expenses from the general fund, is not enough to operate Hillsboro.
“What we bill out, we only get about a third of that back (of billed EMS runs in the townships),” Holt said. “What we’re spending, and what we’re getting back, is not covering the costs. When we came into 2011, we’ll only have about a $70,000 carryover. Before 2011 is over, things could get really tough. We need to have the townships subsidize the EMS services instead of the city of Hillsboro doing it.
“I understand that council said, ‘Yeah, we’ll cover you through December 2011.’ However, I’ve got to manage the money, and the budget through 2011. Council doesn’t. I talked to the law director and I explained that I don’t know how to do that. We already cut 10 percent out of the general fund. We’re only going to carry over $70,000. I’m not asking any more than for the townships to pay for services that we provide. And for the past 25 years they haven’t paid. I work for the people of Hillsboro, and those are the people I have to protect.”
Holt said that the townships needed to come in and talk with him and start negotiating. When asked how that situation was different from last year, when the city negotiating and contract agreement was reached, Holt said, “We can’t afford to do that. We can’t afford it. I don’t know how to pay for all this stuff.”
There are 11 firefighter/EMTs in Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, he said, plus a chief and an assistant chief, and six part-time firefighters. “We’ve got the six part-timers right now, and if we lose the townships, if they decide not to contract with us, and we only provide EMS services to the city of Hillsboro, then we should be able to reduce at least the part-time help,” Holt said. He said the township trustees need to get in touch with him, so they can sit down and talk this out, on an individual basis.
“They wanted us to maintain fire services with them and also provide EMS coverage, as we have in the past,” Holt said. “I understand right now that there is nothing on their books that says this money is set aside for EMS. They do have funds set aside for fire.
“If you have a safety levy, you can provide those things. Let’s talk. Let’s negotiate. Maybe council will let this slide until 2012, or give them the opportunity to put it on the ballot in 2011 and get set up for 2012. Maybe we can make arrangements to cover you for the rest of the year. I don’t know.”[[In-content Ad]]
Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Ralph Holt said that canceling the services is a necessity for the city in order to have enough funds to make it through to the rest of the year. The budget Hillsboro City Council passed in February does not give him enough funds to manage the operations of the city, he said, and action had to be taken. Canceling the contracts would cut the workload for Hillsboro Fire and Rescue in half, Holt said, allowing the city to lay off six part-time firefighters.
Holt sent a letter March 17 to the seven townships that receive fire and EMS coverage from the city, stating that services would be canceled within 90 days.
However, some city officials think the move could lead to deficit spending for the city.
Negotiations between the city and Hamer, Jackson, Liberty, New Market, Paint, Penn and Washington townships dominated city business during the last half of 2010.
The city previously had not included EMS charges in the fire contracts. In May, when the city proposed new contracts to the townships, they included EMS charges. That initial contract proposal to the townships had increases in services between 42 percent and 76.34 percent for the individual townships. The Ohio revised code prohibits levy funds designated to pay for fire services to be used for EMS services. Most of the townships have indicated they will need to take the issue of a separate EMS levy to the voters.
With Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey, who is legal counsel to the townships, negotiating, they proposed a 12 percent increase over the 2010 rates, and the city of Hillsboro made a counter proposal of 18 percent over the 2010 fire contract rate and providing EMS services until June 1, 2011.
After that date, the city said it would charge the township $637 for each EMS run.
The townships submitted a letter to the city, dated Nov. 16, saying they would agree to the 18 percent increase in 2011 for the fire contract only provided, however, that the city of Hillsboro continue to provide EMS services to the townships at no extra charge through, and including, Dec. 31, 2011. Council voted 5-2 to accept the contract, with council members Rod Daniels and Mary Brown Turner voting against it.
During that meeting, Council president Lee Koogler said that the contract, “is not a fix, it’s hopefully a bridge to get us to a fix.”
Koogler told The Highland County Press this week that council had not been informed by Holt of his intent to cancel the contracts.
“I called the auditor to ask if there had been a change to the budget to warrant canceling the contracts,” Koogler said. “What we bill out on EMS services for half a year is $110,000 to $120,000 in potential revenue or at least get in collections. If something happens that would merit the loss of the fire contract, that creates another potential loss of $220,000 to $230,000 in the budget we passed.”
Koogler said that with the city’s projected carryover into 2012 of $70,000, a loss of $230,000 would “certainly” create a deficit for the city. Grandey told The Highland County Press that he is still reviewing the contracts and examining options for the townships.
“(The city) did exactly what they initially said they were going to do,” Grandey said. “I’m still looking into options, so it’s hard to comment. I need to get all our people together to discuss things. My own personal opinion – and not the opinion of the people I represent – is that trust means nothing anymore. Some people are just going to do what they want.”
Holt said that the matter could have been worked out if the townships were willing to get together with the city, individually.
Township representatives, who declined to officially comment for this story, said they have not been asked since last May to individually discuss the contracts with the city. They were under the impression that the contract council approved in November 2011 was still valid, and that negotiations between Grandey and the city were for the 2012 contract were ongoing.
That contract contains a clause that allows the services to be canceled as long as there is a 90-day notice given.
Holt said that no township representative has contacted him since the letter was sent regarding the cancellation of services.
Council member Peter Pence said that he did not know of Holt’s intent to cancel the contracts until after the letter was sent out. However, after discussing the matter with Hillsboro Law Director Fred Beery, Pence said he understands why it was done.
“What I’ve been told is that they want to negotiate as a group,” Pence said. “This isn’t collective bargaining. Each township is their own individual entity and that’s how they need to be negotiating. We already have three unions in the city. We’re not going to negotiate with the townships in that manner.”
Pence said that the city’s recent vote to reject the finding of fact in ongoing negotiations between the city’s police and fire unions have put the city in a financial uncertainty. “I think the intent of issuing the notices (to the townships) is so if the city ends up in a position where we are forced into some sort of arrangement with binding arbitration – assuming we don’t get something worked out in conciliation – the way the township contracts were written, we have to give 90 days notice, even if it’s due to a financial hardship.”
Financial hardship, and the cancellation of the contracts, could lead to layoffs, Pence said. “If the city discontinues services to the townships for EMS I think the door is still wide open for having the possibility of laying off full-time firefighter/EMTs within that department. The bottom line is, it’s frustrating because we have ongoing negotiations (with police and fire unions) and we don’t know exactly where we’re at. We know what our projected carryover balance is, approximately $70,000. But if we end up in binding arbitration and they say, “You’ve got to pay this percentage of a pay increase for the rest of the year, and then this much next year,” then there goes our carryover.”
Pence said that the city and the townships need to come to some sort of long-term solution so that the townships are paying for the services they are receiving. "My hope is that the township trustees will come in and talk to Ralph and get something worked out that can benefit both.”
"If you know where you stand, you can make better decisions," Pence said. "You're trying to account for worst case scenarios ... Personally, I don't want to cut off services to the townships because I see a lot of problems with will develop, and I think long-term we need to have a good relationship with the townships and the trustees to put a plan together that would benefit not only them, but us. Right now, our collection rate is terrible. Contrary to popular opinion, we have a billing company and a collection company aggressively trying to collect as much money as we can. It's a situation that can be worked out to the benefit of both sides."
Council member Dave Shoemaker said that he was not initially aware that the contracts were being cancelled and he initially was against the action. “To just pass (fire contracts) a couple of meetings ago, and then to take it away is not my idea of fair play,” Shoemaker said.
However, after discussing the issue with other officials and hearing Beery’s explanation to Pence, Shoemaker said he gained a better understanding of the reasoning behind Holt’s actions, and can see why that was the route he decided to take. “It would have been nice to have heard, ‘This is what I am going to do and this is why,’” Shoemaker said. “Because now that I find out the reasoning why, it makes perfect sense to me to have the letter sent out.”
When asked by The Highland County Press how the canceling of the EMS services could impact the FOP and IAFF negotiations, Holt said that one thing did not have to do with the other.
Holt said the city’s budget, which was passed by council in February after the city administration cut $400,000 in expenses from the general fund, is not enough to operate Hillsboro.
“What we bill out, we only get about a third of that back (of billed EMS runs in the townships),” Holt said. “What we’re spending, and what we’re getting back, is not covering the costs. When we came into 2011, we’ll only have about a $70,000 carryover. Before 2011 is over, things could get really tough. We need to have the townships subsidize the EMS services instead of the city of Hillsboro doing it.
“I understand that council said, ‘Yeah, we’ll cover you through December 2011.’ However, I’ve got to manage the money, and the budget through 2011. Council doesn’t. I talked to the law director and I explained that I don’t know how to do that. We already cut 10 percent out of the general fund. We’re only going to carry over $70,000. I’m not asking any more than for the townships to pay for services that we provide. And for the past 25 years they haven’t paid. I work for the people of Hillsboro, and those are the people I have to protect.”
Holt said that the townships needed to come in and talk with him and start negotiating. When asked how that situation was different from last year, when the city negotiating and contract agreement was reached, Holt said, “We can’t afford to do that. We can’t afford it. I don’t know how to pay for all this stuff.”
There are 11 firefighter/EMTs in Hillsboro Fire and Rescue, he said, plus a chief and an assistant chief, and six part-time firefighters. “We’ve got the six part-timers right now, and if we lose the townships, if they decide not to contract with us, and we only provide EMS services to the city of Hillsboro, then we should be able to reduce at least the part-time help,” Holt said. He said the township trustees need to get in touch with him, so they can sit down and talk this out, on an individual basis.
“They wanted us to maintain fire services with them and also provide EMS coverage, as we have in the past,” Holt said. “I understand right now that there is nothing on their books that says this money is set aside for EMS. They do have funds set aside for fire.
“If you have a safety levy, you can provide those things. Let’s talk. Let’s negotiate. Maybe council will let this slide until 2012, or give them the opportunity to put it on the ballot in 2011 and get set up for 2012. Maybe we can make arrangements to cover you for the rest of the year. I don’t know.”[[In-content Ad]]