Quoted from bumblethru

Looking at my letter, I must have gotten the wrong one. The salutation says, Dear Business owner. And it does ask for $100 or more. My parents got theirs and the salutation was Dear Resident and it does ask for $25.00. So they must have just put the wrong letter in the envelope. The one I got was on yellow paper and the one my parents got was on white.

Are you a business owner

Quoted from B GAGE

Are you a business owner

nope

Quoted from bumblethru

nope

guess someone made a mistake...could be a non union employee  

Quoted from B GAGE

guess someone made a mistake...could be a non union employee  

Good one!

this is a scheme over here to make it so that the workers on the ambulance the drivers - can not make a living wage and it is headed up by Stevie and the repubs and any profits they make will be heading for the insur companies who are rich and greedy so the people need to throw the repubs out this fall to keep the ambulance and rems free for all townspeople

Quoted from bumblethru

Good one!

good humor bum

nothin' is free......the job of a politician is to make their constituents(who think they need everything or nothing) think it's free......Sal, you got the
wool pulled over your eyes.......

the "leaders" must have done a great job selling social security(oxymoron) to you and your pals.......

there is no level playing field

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CAPITAL REGION
Legislation proposed to avert harm to ambulance providers
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Keeping an ambulance and its equipment up-to-date can be an expensive endeavor.
    It’s one Dave Cote deals with day in and day out with the Rotterdam Emergency Medical Services Inc. The not-for-profit ambulance company’s operations manager is often faced with making difficult choices when it comes to deciding what equipment needs to be modernized.
    “We try to replace equipment every three to five years, but it doesn’t necessarily happen for financial reasons,” he said, Monday.
    And when ambulance companies don’t receive the proper rate of reimbursements from Medicare, keeping up with equipment demand can be even more of a struggle. In 2007, the federal Government Accountability Office produced a report that suggested ambulance providers were being drastically underpaid by Medicare, thereby hampering their ability to outfi t their rigs with state-of-the-art medical equipment.
    Federal legislation in 2008 provided a temporary 6 percent increase in these payments. But this level of reimbursement will expire by years’ end if new legislation isn’t passed, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday during a news conference at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany.
    Schumer is proposing legislation that will ensure these Medicare payments are kept at their current level over the next decade.
    He said the reimbursements could bring up to $10.3 million to Capital Region ambulance companies through the duration of his legislation. In Schenectady County alone, the increase would bring an additional $2.1 million over 10 years, according to his estimates.
    Roughly 40 percent of the patients who use ambulances are covered by Medicare, meaning the reimbursements are a critical component of their annual budgets. Schumer said the Medical Modernization Act of 2003 changed the formula for Medicare payments to ambulance services, prompting companies on tight budgets to cut back on their equipment purchases. ........>>>>.........>>>>.........http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar00703

Albany can't put the service out to bid now, since there is no other service anymore. If you share your ambulance service to that extent with another community, and there is no "back-up" service, it is not impossible (as this story illustrates) to have a longer wait.

I know some are very critical about the idea of an ambulance service costing money to the tune of $30 per year (whereas county taxes are 20 times that on average and the no one is screaming about that) but I would say with both REMS and Mohawk operating here in town, no one will be waiting 25 minutes for the life saving ride to the hospital. As much as fiscal issues represent some of our biggest challenges, sometimes you have to look at what you are getting for the dollar. I would rather ALLOCATE my tax dollar to items that are life-saving and improving of public safety, rather than jobs for Kosier, jobs for PR men, feel-good laws, social service mansions, grants and zero interest loans to buddies, and Spanish speaking welfare workers. That, as a voter and citizen is what I want and don't want.

Quoted from GrahamBonnet

I would rather ALLOCATE my tax dollar to items that are life-saving and improving of public safety, rather than jobs for Kosier, jobs for PR men, feel-good laws, social service mansions, grants and zero interest loans to buddies, and Spanish speaking welfare workers. That, as a voter and citizen is what I want and don't want.

Oh, that is what I want and don't want too. But ya know what? It ain't ever gonna happen. No matter what political party is in control, there will always be Kosier jobs, feel good laws, social service mansions, grants and zero interest loans for the buddies AND every single welfare recipient will continue to always exist!
The names and faces may change....but things will remain 'as usual'! Sad to say!

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Quoted from GrahamBonnet:
Albany can't put the service out to bid now, since there is no other service anymore. If you share your ambulance service to that extent with another community, and there is no "back-up" service, it is not impossible (as this story illustrates) to have a longer wait.

I know some are very critical about the idea of an ambulance service costing money to the tune of $30 per year (whereas county taxes are 20 times that on average and the no one is screaming about that) but I would say with both REMS and Mohawk operating here in town, no one will be waiting 25 minutes for the life saving ride to the hospital. As much as fiscal issues represent some of our biggest challenges, sometimes you have to look at what you are getting for the dollar.

GB,

You speak like a politician who has formerly held conservative positions on fiscal issues but who is now trying to justify siding with those who want to expand the size, cost, and reach of government.  How long have you been reading the papers and listening to the news to find a negative story about Mohawk Ambulance that you could exploit to advance your position?  This is an unfortunate tragedy and needless loss.  It should not be politicized.

Has REMS' response time ever been longer than 25 minutes?  I suspect so.  I would suggest that occasional delayed responses have occurred with all EMS providers.  This is a case of the supply (i.e., EMS and ambulatory services) being outstripped by demand (# of calls for assistance).  It also appears that a procedural error was made by Mohawk Ambulance in accepting the call rather than to turn it over to another service with medical crews nearer by.

The occurrence does NOT justify the creation of a new tax district to support another government run bureacracy.  It may warrant a review of the services being provided by Mohawk to determine if additional crews should be contracted for.  And to state that the City of Albany can't contract with another service is incorrect.  If the contract terms are not being satisified, there should be a provision for severance.  If the EMS services were being provided by city government employees, there would be NO chance of contracting with a private provider.

Though I generally agree with your positions, you are dead wrong on this issue.  But keep trying to justify your position (or that of someone who forced you to accept it).

And, before you try to twist my position, I will state that the men and women of REMS are professionals who work tirelessly to serve the community.  I would prefer, however, that they organize and become a for-profit business that will compete with Mohawk Ambulance rather than to become a government entity with a dedicated source of public funding.

I just think it would be nice to have BOTH services at our behest as we do now. When one doesn't get there, the other one will, with each having a motive to provide the service. And I am only looking to engage in chat and debate about the important issue since it is one of our town wide challenges to make sure our residents safety is number one. This forum serves a valuable need.

I wouldn't judge you based on your view, and I respect it. I won't twist what you say either.

I must agree with both stands....in part. I would like nothing better than to have an EMS available 24/7 for emergencies.  However I do  not want it to be a government, taxpaid program. This would be a run a way train that would just grow into a wild beast like every other government program. It is just another 'feel good' proposal. Something I would expect from the dems who's ideology is BIG GOVERNMENT.

It should be privatized. IMHO

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I just think it would be nice to have BOTH services at our behest as we do now.

I would suggest that competition drives quality (of services in this case) and lowers cost.   Thus, I agree that it is preferred to have multiple services/squads who will compete for the town's business.  This would bring about a cost-competitive solution, higher service quality and support backup service agreements .  If one of these services is government run, however, the private sector will be excluded from competing.

We have seen our government, at all levels, mismanage every program for which they have been responsible.  The residents of Rotterdam must be careful in ceding responsibility for and control of this imperative service to faceless and unaccountable government bureaucrats.