If Rotterdam's supervisor doesn't postpone this vote, he too, will be subject to an investigation. It can't get anymore black and white that rems and the politicos (past and present) have been running a questionable practice, possibly robbing the taxpayers out of hundreds of thousand of dollars.
If that ALONE isn't reason enough to postpone this vote and demand a full investigation.....than rotterdamians/taxpayers have a legal case to ponder.
Consolidated Laws of NY GMU - General Municipal
Article 6 - Public Health & Safety
Section 122 - B General Ambulance Service
§ 122-b. General ambulance services. 1. Any county, city, town or
village, acting individually or jointly, may provide an emergency
medical service, a general ambulance service or a combination of such
services for the purpose of providing prehospital emergency medical
treatment or transporting sick or injured persons found within the
boundaries of the municipality to a hospital, clinic, sanatorium or
other place for treatment of such illness or injury, and for that
purpose may:
(a) Acquire by gift or purchase one or more motor vehicles suitable
for such purpose and supply and equip the same with such materials and
facilities as it may consider necessary for prehospital emergency
treatment, and may operate, maintain, repair and replace such vehicles
and such supplies and equipment;
(b) Contract with one or more individuals, municipal corporations,
associations, or other organizations, having sufficient trained and
experienced personnel, for operation, maintenance and repair of such
emergency medical service or ambulance vehicles and for the furnishing
of prehospital emergency treatment;
(c) Contract with one or more individuals, municipal corporations,
associations, or other organizations to supply, staff and equip
emergency medical service or ambulance vehicles suitable for such
purposes and operate such vehicles for the furnishing of prehospital
emergency treatment;
(d) Employ any combination of the methods authorized in paragraph (a),
(b) or (c);
(e) No contract shall be entered into pursuant to the provisions of
this section for the services of an emergency rescue and first aid squad
of a fire department or fire company which is subject to the provisions
of section two hundred nine-b of the general municipal law;
(f) Consider prehospital emergency treatment as that care provided by
certified emergency medical technicians or certified advanced emergency
medical technicians certified pursuant to the provisions of article
thirty of the public health law.
1-a. As used in this section:
(a) "Emergency medical technician" means an individual who meets the
minimum requirements established by regulations pursuant to section
three thousand two of the public health law and who is responsible for
administration or supervision of initial emergency medical assistance
and handling and transportation of sick, disabled or injured persons.
(b) "Advanced emergency medical technician" means an emergency medical
technician who has satisfactorily completed an advanced course of
training approved by the state council under regulations pursuant to
section three thousand two of the public health law.
2. Such municipality shall formulate rules and regulations relating to
the use of such apparatus and equipment in the provision of emergency
medical services or ambulance service and may fix a schedule of fees or
charges to be paid by persons requesting the use of such facilities.
Such municipalities may provide for the collection of such fees and
charges or may formulate rules and regulations for the collection
thereof by the individuals, municipal corporations, associations, or
other organizations furnishing service under contract as provided in
paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section.
3. Such municipality may purchase or provide insurance indemnifying
against liability for the negligent operation of such emergency medical
service or ambulance service and the negligent use of other equipment or
supplies incidental to the furnishing of such emergency medical service
or ambulance service.
4. Such municipality may provide for the administration and
coordination of such emergency medical service or ambulance service
including but not limited to operation of an emergency medical
communications system and medical control.
5. Fire districts, which, as part of a fire protection contract, may
provide general ambulance and/or emergency ambulance service pursuant to
section two hundred nine-b of this chapter and article thirty of the
public health law where a town or village has not designated itself as
the primary provider of or otherwise contracted for an emergency
ambulance, a general ambulance service, or a combination of such service
acting individually or jointly, may contract with one or more
individuals, municipal corporations, or other organizations having
sufficient trained personnel, vehicles or combination of personnel and
vehicles suitable to provide prehospital emergency treatment, for the
furnishing of supplemental personnel, equipment or service to cover
instances or periods of time when its service may not be readily
available.
First, the Town MAY provide an emergency medical service, not SHALL.
Second, throughout the Law, the resounding theme is CONTRACT, not award.
It indeed is questionable if the T.B. actions were legal since there was never a contract, and Mohawk never had an option to bid. This is especially true since the ambulance service spanned municipal boundaries with T. of Princetown!
Perhaps this is the reason why Mohawk is silent, they already have evaluated what has transpired from a legal perspective.
Logged
