Jason Perillo is leaving his post as the executive director of Valley Emergency Medical Services.
Perillo, who is also a Republican state representative for Shelton, the 113th district, announced his decision to the VEMS board of directors Wednesday night, saying he had achieved his goal of improving the organization and felt it was time to move on.
Perillo hasn’t said yet when his last day will be, but expects the transition to take several months.
VEMS is a regional paramedic service that serves Ansonia, Derby, Seymour, Shelton and Oxford.
“When I started they didn’t have any employees,” Perillo said. “They contracted with an outside company for staff. I’ve put into place a business plan, hired 25 people, increased coverage, improved response times. And I’ve strengthened the finances tremendously.”
Perillo said the VEMS budget was “lean” when he was hired as the executive director in 2008.
“Now we’re able to purchase new equipment, new vehicles,” Perillo said.
Perillo, who makes a base salary of $75,000, was hired in 2008 as a part-time executive director at a salary of $55,000, according to the New Haven Register.
Wednesday, the VEMS board of directors approved a $15,000 bonus for Perillo.
Last year, when the board voted to make Perillo full-time, some of the board members expressed concern that Perillo was an emergency medical technician, but not a paramedic, the Register reported.
Despite the concerns, the board voted 10 – 1 to hire Perillo full time and extend his contract for three years, the Register reported.
Perillo’s transition out won’t happen overnight: he presented a budget to the board Wednesday that includes a line item for his position until the end of July.
“I believe the transition can be complete before then,” Perillo said.
The budget proposal includes an “administrator” position for $65,000 a year to replace the executive director position, although Perillo said depending on the person who is found to replace him, that salary could be different.
Perillo wouldn’t say what he’ll do next .
“This is not a political decision,” Perillo said. “I’m not running for U.S. Senate. There is an excellent opportunity for me to move on, and take the skill set that I’ve developed and apply it somewhere else.”
