City To Outsource EMS

Wills Point is going shopping for an emergency medical services (EMS) provider.

The decision, made Monday evening at a special session of the Wills Point City Council, has the council so divided that one member bolted from the meeting before a vote.

By a 2-1 count, the council gave city manager Jim Stephens the green light to begin negotiations with an outside EMS service for coverage within the city limits.

However, one portion of the decision has now been voided on legal grounds.

In the same motion, the city also intended to hire a paid fire chief to act as a liaison between the city and the future EMS provider. Rick Moosebrugger, a current employee of the city’s EMS, was named to that post on an interim basis Monday night but announced Wednesday he had reconsidered and declined it.

Wednesday, city attorney Shaina Primeaux said that portion of the council’s action has been rescinded.

"The action related to an interim fire chief being hired or applications being accepted for that position is a voidable action, because the matter was not posted according to the 72-hour notice requirement by the Texas Open Meetings Act," Primeaux said.

She added, "I do feel confident this matter has been legally resolved in the fashion it needs to be."

The decision to create and fill a paid fire chief position is what got under the skin of council member Herbert Dunn, who abruptly walked out of the meeting midway through a closed session discussion.

Tuesday, Dunn raised the possibility of a Texas Open Meetings Act violation because the posted agenda contained nothing about the paid fire chief position.

Beyond that, Dunn accused Wills Point Mayor Scott McGriff and council members Oscar Rogers and Deby Frye — the two who voted for the plan presented by Stephens — as having "overstepped their bounds."

"It just didn’t go well with me. I feel like the mayor, councilman Rogers and Frye had already discussed this issue, and are trying to shove it down the throat of the people of Wills Point without giving them the opportunity to voice their concerns whether to keep or outsource the EMS," Dunn said in a telephone interview.

He said he had hoped council member Jimmy Blasingame, who wound up casting the lone vote of opposition to the plan, would leave the meeting with him, essentially creating a filibuster. Council member Scott Stevens was not present for the meeting.

"I asked for bottom line numbers to be able to look at something," Dunn said about the presentation. "I asked the mayor to bring something to us to act upon whether or not we needed to outsource EMS, but there was nothing put in front of us to indicate the route we needed to go…

"Once I found out what the mayor was trying to do, I was trying to block that, because I knew first of all the public was not aware of what was about to take place."

In a prepared statement, McGriff defended the decision and said the plan will address ongoing equipment and maintenance issues.

"I have heard people say they would be disappointed to see EMS leave Wills Point. Currently, Wills Point EMS owns two ambulances; neither of which has been operational, at the same time, since the hiring of our current city manager," he said. "In some cases both ambulances have been out of service due to repairs.

"Based on our equipment and staffing needs, Mr. Stephens has brought a recommendation to the council that will not only serve the needs of the citizens of Wills Point, but will also keep the same faces responding to your emergencies," McGriff continued in his statement.

If an agreement is reached with a provider, that company would take ownership of the ambulances, equipment and EMS operations currently housed at the city’s station on South Fourth Street.

McGriff said the EMS personnel would benefit as well.

"The staff will be paid or provided the same or better compensation, the same or better benefits, the same or better equipment, quality training and the opportunity for advancement," he said.

Council member Jimmy Blasingame said after the meeting he thought it was an unnecessary change.

"I think it centers around some personnel problem within the EMS that is now trying to be passed off to someone else," he said.

"I have a lot of faith that we can work out any problems on our own. I’m very proud of both our EMS and our volunteer fire department…I do not want to get rid of our ambulance service and do not want to see us farm it out," Blasingame added.

Blasingame said he also fears the city will be looking at an even greater cost to reinstate city-owned ambulance services if a contracted EMS provider decides to end service at some point.

"I do not feel we would get the good service we have now, but it comes down to a financial issue. If an EMS service pulls out, it will cost us a lot more to get it put back in," Blasingame said.

McGriff disagrees and said he believes the approved plan will justify itself to citizens. He said he had spoken to citizens before and after the meeting and had received mixed comments on the plan.

"I believe once the citizens of Wills Point understand these facts, they too will come to the same conclusion that EMS is not leaving Wills Point and will support our city manager’s recommendation."