Pay up, Derby.
That’s the message from the new executive director for the Valley Emergency Medical Services.
VEMS provides paramedic services to the five Valley towns — each of which are asked to contribute $30,000 toward its operating costs each year.
For the past three years, Derby has declined to pay.
The city hasn’t paid in the past because of disagreements over how the VEMS Board of Directors is set up, according to ambulance and city officials. Derby has also questioned why all towns contribute the same amount of money, even though they don’t receive the same amount of help from VEMS, based on differences in population.
But VEMS Executive Director Robert Pettinella said it’s time for Derby to start paying its share.
Background
Each Valley town has its own ambulance corps, which staffs certified emergency medical technicians.
VEMS is a regional service that complements the local ambulance corps — providing paramedics who can perform more advanced medical tasks.
VEMS is overseen by a Board of Directors made up of representatives from each of the five Valley ambulance corps and towns, as well as members from Griffin Hospital and one person from the general public.
Contributions
Each town is asked to pay $30,000 each year to help VEMS operate.
All but Derby have been contributing — although Ansonia has given about $20,000 some years, Pettinella said.
Pettinella said the non-payment hurts VEMS’s ability to keep operating, especially as federal and state grants dry up. VEMS serves Derby, even though it doesn’t pay.
“It is a detriment to VEMS,” Pettinella said after an informal meeting of the Board of Directors at Griffin Hospital last week.
VEMS also takes in money from billing patients.
During the meeting, Pettinella said he has been pressuring Derby to start paying its share of operating costs.
“I will fight to get that funding,” Pettinella said. “At this point, it’s a joke.”
Pettinella said he has called and e‑mailed Derby city officials several times over the past few weeks to talk with them about the annual payment. He has received no answer.
Pettinella said he has met with every other finance board in the Valley.
“Every municipality has looked me in the face and asked my why isn’t Derby paying,” Pettinella said.
Derby Has No Voice?
Storm Ambulance Chief Jim Saldamarco said a large part of the reason is representation on the Board of Directors.
When new positions were added to the board several years ago for Griffin Hospital representatives and a member of the public, Saldamarco said it diluted each town’s say in decisions.
“Over the years, as VEMS grew, they kept adding members to the board,” Saldamarco said. “They want us to contribute to an organization we have no say in anymore.”
Saldamarco said if the majority of the five Valley towns have a problem with something VEMS is doing, they don’t have enough votes to make a change.
Once Derby stopped paying, VEMS removed voting rights for the city representative. Derby still has one vote on the board from the ambulance corps.
Also, Saldamarco said, towns like Shelton have a much higher call volume than Derby, yet they pay the same amount each year.
“We thought the ratio of the payment was unfair,” Saldamarco said.
Talks
Saldamarco said he has been talking with ambulance and city officials about whether the city will pay any money toward VEMS this year — and expects to make a recommendation to the city in the next few weeks.
Saldamarco said even if Storm Ambulance recommends the city pay VEMS something, it doesn’t mean it will happen.
“I can’t speak for what the city is going to do,” Saldamarco said. “Obviously budgets are very tight.”
Derby has asked all departments to come up with a zero percent increase budget, so starting payments toward VEMS this year might mean cuts somewhere else, said Phil Robertson, the city’s chief administrative officer.
“Any additional money has to be found somewhere else,” Robertson said. “We are pursuing a zero growth budget. More adamantly than you might believe.”
As for the lack of response from Derby, Robertson said it’s because Derby is still deciding whether to pay VEMS.
“It really wouldn’t make sense for us to call VEMS back until we had a position to take,” Robertson said.
