TRI-TOWN AMBULANCE
West Tisbury Chilmark Aquinnah
Chief Ben Retmier, Tri-Town Ambulance Chief
P.O. Box 457 West Tisbury, MA. 02575
PHONE/FAX: 508·693·4992
Tri-Town Ambulance Committee
May 3rd, 2017 Meeting Minutes
The meeting was called to order by Committee Chair Jim Newman at 12:00 p.m.
In attendance
Cynthia Mitchell, Committee Member, Jim Newman Committee Chair, Warren Doty, Committee Member, Chief Retmier, Ellen Biskis Town Accountant, Chief Simon Bolin, Chief Randhi Belain, EMT Jennifer Haynes, Chief Estrella, Mrs. Estrella, Allison Graczykowski, Admin Assistant
- Approval of April 5th, 2017 Meeting Minutes
Committee Member Warren Doty moved to approve the meeting minutes, Cynthia Mitchell, Committee member seconded the motion. Chair, Jim Newman and Committee Member Warren Doty voted to approve. Cynthia Mitchell abstained from the vote.
Chief Retmier shared that the Town of Chilmark voted in the affirmative to appropriate $200,000.00 from the ambulance reserve receipt fund. Chief Retmier shared that while working with Tim Carroll that they’ve determined that the purchase will be done thru HGAC Collective. Chief Retmier shared that we need to ensure that when we purchase ambulance that we purchase an in-state service contract as required by law. The service agreement will be with Bull Dog which is in state. Committee member Warren Doty asked if the service agreement is separate from purchase of vehicle. Chief is working on that.
Committee member Warren Doty shared that was a concern from the town council.
Chief shared that several other Island towns belong to this Collective.
Time will be reserved for topics the chair did not reasonably anticipate.
Chief Retmier shared the letter from the TTA Benevolent Association. With unanimous support from the squad The Benevolent Association purchased three Microsoft Surface Pro-4 laptops for the ambulances.
Chief Retmier shared how happy he and the squad are for the generosity of the Benevolent Association. This is a onetime capital expense in support of Tri-Town Ambulance
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Alan Ganapol, President of the Benevolent association shared that it was a unanimous decision to make this purchase for TTA.
Thanks, was extended to Alan from the Committee.
Chief Retmier wished to publicly extend his thanks to the West Tisbury police department for their assistance on a difficult call. Chief shared that Officer Mincone and Officer Cortez did an excellent job and were part of a great team effort.
- Ellen Biskis, Town Accountant – Updates
Ellen Biskis, Chilmark Town Accountant provided copies of the current Tri-Town Ambulance budget.
She shared that she will attend meetings four times a year to review financial status.
Ellen reviewed information from town report, specifically the operating account and reserve account.
Ellen discussed funding sources, town assessments and receipts from insurance collections.
After reviewing Salaries and Expenses Chief Retmier spoke to the per diem and night medic line items vs the overtime line item. Upon review of these figures, Committee Member Jim Newman asked if this would be a good time to visit hiring another full-time medic.
Chief Retmier advised that he and Allison had put together some numbers and are being reviewed.
Chief Retmier also shared that the EMT line item becomes hourly on May 21st and we’ll have 3 EMT’s on each day, which will result in this line item decreasing quickly.
Ellen shared that she has not balanced the town wide workmen’s comp line item and that this is done toward the end of the fiscal year. Ellen also stated that property casualty insurance has not yet been applied to the TTA budget.
Jim Newman asked Ellen where our largest increase is. Ellen replied that nothing has changed dramatically, and that the budget keeps getting fine-tuned further and further.
Ellen reviewed all the monies coming in from Comstar and the unencumbered portion. The balance that was being reported previously hadn’t yet had the 80% broken out. The town report showed all the monies even though 80% was being allocated towards budget. Ellen shared that the numbers she provides come directly from the Comstar receipts.
Committee member Warren Doty offered that the current balance of the reserve fund is approximately $225,000, and of that we are spending $200,000.00.
Ellen confirmed that we will continue to grow the ambulance reserve receipt fund by about $40,000 to $45,000.00 a year and that it will be 3-4 years before we accumulate enough to purchase another ambulance.
Ellen will be happy to attend another meeting in September after fiscal year 17 is closed out.
The audience in attendance at the TTA Committee meeting expressed concerns regarding staffing at locations in the Tri-Town Service area. Chief Retmier and the committee addressed and acknowledged the concerns.
This conversation was a segae to the TTA Crew letter that was addressed to Tri-Town Ambulance Committee and Chief Retmier. Tri-Town Ambulance EMT Jennifer Haynes presented the letter to the committee and Chief.
The essence of the letter was to share frustration that Tri-town Ambulance does not have a facility of their own and that there is currently no movement on locating a parcel that can be developed for an appropriate station.
The letter provided the opportunity for the audience, committee and Chief to hold an open and engaged conversation regarding what the next steps are to see movement on a facility for Tri-Town Ambulance.
Chief Retmier shared some of the short-term solutions that have been put into place until TTA has their own home.
The letter invites the TTA Committee to the monthly squad meeting.
Chief Retmier shared that over the last three-month period Tri-Town Ambulance has had 73 incidents. During this same three-month period, last year, Tri-Town Ambulance had 73 incidents.
Allison Graczykowski, Administrative Assistant reviewed the collections to date with the Committee. Collections continue to go well.
The next meeting will be held on June 7, 2017, 12:00 pm at the West Tisbury Fire Station on State Road, West Tisbury.
Committee member Cynthia Mitchell motioned to adjourn the meeting at 1:09 pm. and Committee member Warren Doty seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
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Prepared by: _____________________________________________
Allison Graczykowski, Clerical Assistant
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