By Matthew Higbee
Connecticut Post Online (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
Copyright 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
SEYMOUR, Conn. — The Valley Council of Governments on Wednesday defended questions that its chairman, Seymour Mayor Robert Koskelowski, raised about the recent expansion of paramedic service.
At a VCOG meeting last month, Koskelowski and other chief elected officials formally requested an update from the Valley Emergency Medical Service after Koskelowski aired a concern that the towns might not have received the service for which they had paid.
“We feel that the actions of the VCOG and its chairman are both appropriate and necessary measures to understanding the strategic decisions of VEMS,” the VCOG statement said. “The ability to conduct oversight, especially to explain to their constituents why they recommended funding for something that was implemented differently than was originally represented, is a fundamental responsibility of any chief-elected official.”
Koskelowski said he took his concerns to VCOG after phone calls to the VEMS director, Jerry Schwab, were not returned. Schwab denied Koskelowski had called him.
Last year, VCOG agreed to fund the VEMS expansion after conducting a long-range policy study.
During a March 2005 presentation, according to the VCOG statement, VEMS representative Jason Perillo said the service would cost each town $20,000. In return, VEMS would add one paramedic for 24-hour coverage and place an added vehicle in Seymour, according to the statement. The service expansion was to start Jan. 1, 2006.
Last month, Koskelowski said the new service did not start until September, when VEMS put an additional vehicle in Oxford.
Schwab disputed this account Wednesday, saying that in October 2005 VEMS hired a new full-time supervisor stationed in Oxford to respond to calls in the northern coverage area. Perillo said Thursday that the new vehicle was never intended only for Seymour, but also to bolster coverage for the entire service area.
“The goal of the Valley EMS is to serve 100,000 people as well as we possibly can,” Perillo said. Schwab said he would attend next Wednesday’s VCOG meeting to address the concerns. “This all could have been worked out with a little communication,” Schwab said.