After months of contentious negotiations West Windsor Township withdrew its support for the Twin W Rescue squad, effectively disabling the all-volunteer nonprofit that has provided free ambulance service to the community since 1972. For months both sides had been negotiating a new memorandum of understanding (MOU), but now neither side believes the other was negotiating in good faith.
Twin W sought to begin billing for service to cover operational costs, with declining donations having led to years of deficits and shrinking savings, while also trying to train its many younger members. Yet squad president and deputy chief Brian Solomon says the squad was ready to sign what was considered an onerous MOU, characterizing the final decision as a “revenue grab” by the township’s EMS division.
A closed Council session with township EMS director Jim Yates was held on Monday, March 23, and the next day the volunteer squad was disconnected from the emergency dispatch line, with emergency response duties being taken over by the township’s paid professional EMTs.
“The township decided we are more of a liability than a benefit,” says squad chief Pat Tedesco. “The township keeps bringing up past experiences that happened in 2011, 2012, 2013, and not focusing on the improvements we made in 2014 and now.”
The township’s fire and emergency services division will now provide all first aid and ambulance services. West Windsor Emergency Services currently has six full time EMTs covering daytime duties seven days a week, and they will also work Twin W’s night shift until an additional three EMTs are hired. West Windsor Emergency Services, was introduced in 2010, collecting nearly $300,000 in ambulatory service revenue last year and more than $250,000 in 2013.
Of the township’s four ambulances, one on-call vehicle is kept at the municipal complex while the remaining three are stored at the Arts Council building when not in use. In the event of a second emergency call, the township has mutual aid agreements with neighboring squads, and Yates says the EMS division plans on implementing a volunteer program, with some Twin W members already expressing interest.
Twin W volunteers previously covered emergency calls weekdays 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. on weekends. With 58 members and more than 20 regular EMTs, the squad answered 730 calls in 2014, including 48 secondary calls, and 142 calls through March 2015.
A Council-favored plan for a new EMS building next to the Princeton Junction Volunteer Firehouse will house the township’s emergency services division. At the March 9 meeting, Council approved an architectural design firm, and construction could begin as soon as this year. At the budget workshop March 23 following Council’s unanimous decision to discontinue support for Twin W, Council allocated an additional $180,000 in salary and wages to hire three full-time personnel, as well as an additional $5,000 for uniforms. Total salary and wages for all fire and emergency services personnel in 2014 exceeded $800,000.
The projected net increase to the 2015 budget is $77,000, as the salary increases will be partially offset by the elimination of the township’s insurance and contribution obligations to Twin W. Council president Bryan Maher said more than $100,000 in additional ambulance billing revenue is expected after the expansion of the township’s emergency services.
Twin W is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and previously both volunteers and paid township EMTs operated out of the squad-owned facility on Everett Drive, where two township-owned ambulances were stored. Aside from a $30,000 yearly contribution from the township, the squad relied on community donations. The township also provided $15,000 in medical supplies to the squad, as well as worker’s compensation and liability insurance for volunteers.
However, with a lack of income and years of deficits, the squad had intended to begin billing for ambulance transports to cover operational costs.
“Residents are going to get billed one way or the other. I think the township realized there’s revenue here, we can hire more staff, and we don’t need the residents to do it, and that’s what they did,” Solomon says. “We had trouble fundraising, we wanted to start billing for services, the township thought it would be better if WWFES just did that. Our argument was we save them $200,000 a year in labor. Yes we would bill, but we are volunteers and we have to pay for training, upkeep of building.”
The administration and Twin W had been negotiating a new MOU since last year, with the township insisting future support would be contingent on the signing of an MOU agreement. Solomon says the squad agreed to the MOU but the township back pedaled.
Before the March 23 Council meeting, the squad’s attorney confirmed to the township’s attorney that the squad was ready to accept the MOU. However, after Council had convened, the township notified Twin W of its ultimate decision.
Business administrator Marlena Schmid says Council gave the squad a March 16 deadline, but the squad insisted on MOU changes that the township rejected.
“Waiting until 6 p.m. until the night of the meeting that they were about to sign the agreement, to me is not a good faith effort,” Schmid says.
Solomon acknowledges the organizational challenges within Twin W. A Mount Laurel resident who works at Rider, Solomon was an EMT officer for the Delran Emergency Squad brought in last year by former squad chief Chris Polgar to help right the ship. In addition to financial difficulties, the squad’s relative youth required training. The average EMT age was 19, and many volunteers were away for college.
Yet Solomon questions the township’s conduct towards the squad.
“If we were so incompetent, all the things we were horrible at, why were they negotiating with us?,” Solomon says. “What changed in the past couple months? They would have saved us money in January if they told us to go in a different direction. I have a sneaking suspicion they figured it out with the budget. I say that because there is money which they haven’t given us. The timing seemed coincidental.”
The township had not disbursed the remaining $15,000 promised to the squad for 2014, as both parties continued to negotiate the terms of the MOU.
“$15,000 that’s the cost of one month pay with two EMTs, 168 hours a week,” Solomon says.
“The thing is if you don’t want an MOU tell us in January,” Solomon says. “We spent $10,000 on an attorney over the past three months; we felt this was over the survival of the squad. The township was upset we brought in a lawyer.” At the township’s request, the squad also agreed to submit to an audit, paid for by the squad.
Both sides had been negotiating a new MOU since December. Solomon says the old one, signed in April, 2013, was “restrictive, like operating under a gun.” The new MOU mandated training, though Twin W was short on funds, and the township sought to restrict the squad’s expenditures. The disbursement of billing revenue was also an issue, with the township stipulating biannual payments, while the squad pushed for monthly installments to cover expenses (Schmid says billing revenue does not come in on a monthly basis).
Yates says the township was going to provide training, and the township had also raised additional safety concerns. Twin W previously responded to two incidents with downed electric wires, though no volunteer was hurt.
“You need stronger leadership at these accident scenes, you need officers responding to these calls,” Yates says. “We felt it was important to establish some oversight, and they really pushed back on that.”
The squad also negotiated for a one-hour reduction in daily on-duty coverage. The township rejected this request, as it would require two EMTs to each work an hour of overtime each day.
Responding to an Open Public Records Act request from the News, the township declined to release the MOU under negotiation, citing unresolved matters.
With MOU negotiations stalling, Twin W made an appeal to Council at the September 8 meeting, requesting permission to bill for ambulance service in order to remain financially solvent (The News, September 26, 2014). The squad also sought to hire per diems to cover open shifts and provide training.
Unlike the request to begin billing for service, the township never considered allowing per diems.
According to Twin W trustee and past president Larry Hollander, the township’s emergency services hire per diems, and when the volunteer squad did so the township forbade squad per diems from riding the ambulances.
“At the end of the day, the township’s issue was they wanted West Windsor Fire and Emergency Services to handle coverage 24/7,” Solomon says.
The recent impasse stems from past tension between the squad and the township. In 2012 the squad barred the township from the facility and the township in turn did not allow the squad from using township-owned equipment and ambulances. Earlier in the year the township also took exception to a large, themed party held at the Twin W facility, though Solomon says no current squad member was a part of the event (described as a “furry” party).
The township subsequently entered into an MOU with the squad in 2013, and both sides sought to update the previous agreement.
“If they did not sign the MOU, it would be hard for the township to support the Twin W volunteer squad,” says Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh. “We feel there will be potential liability if both sides don’t comply with the MOU. Without the MOU we will have to deal with a lot of potential legal issues.”
An alleged sexual harassment incident several years ago involving two teenage Twin W members led to a review by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. According to Solomon, no police report was filed, and Twin W complied with the EEOC. One volunteer was suspended and the squad and township staff underwent sexual harassment training.
“In the township’s defense, it’s one more thing against us. I understand from their standpoint. But we don’t think it makes any sense,” Solomon says. “We were taking calls up until the last night. Why now?”
Schmid and Yates said Twin W has ongoing personnel issues, though when asked if they were referring to the sexual harassment allegations both had no comment.
Volunteer applications have increased at neighboring Plainsboro Rescue Squad (PRS), an already selective volunteer organization (The News, February 6, 2015). The PRS leadership had previously met with Twin W to offer assistance
Plainsboro chief Brian Gould calls the recent developments “a shame,” especially considering the shuttering of East Windsor Rescue Squad District 2 last November. While it is not surprising a neighboring volunteer EMT would say so, Gould says a volunteer EMS organization not only provides benefits that paid personnel cannot do, he believes volunteers from the generally well educated West Windsor-Plainsboro region provide a higher level of emergency care.
“Simply as a resident of a town, wouldn’t you like to know there are 50 trained EMTs in the area?,” Gould says. “PRS has managed to get all three of our trucks out on demand. Whether it’s a big accident, multiple calls at the same time, or having a truck on standby for sporting events, I like that there are a large number of people trained and available.”
Gould notes the bar to become an EMT in New Jersey is low. A high school diploma and 250 hours of training is the typical background of paid EMTs in the state, says Gould, adding that Plainsboro township has had difficulty finding satisfactory EMTs for the paid staff.
“The volunteer organization brings a higher level of emergency care than you get from paid people. People who volunteer love it and they tend to do a lot of training. You have a very well educated population in the area, and it shows in the volunteer organization. If it were my town losing a volunteer squad, I would show up to the township to ask what’s going on.”
