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From
the Opinions page.
No-bid paramedic contract hurts Bethel
tax payers
If there is any good news concerning the October, 2008 paramedic
services contract that the Burke administration has entered into
with Danbury Health Care Affiliates it is that this contract will
provide paramedic service solely to Bethel and not in conjunction
with any other town--but don't applaud yet. The cost to Bethel
Taxpayers for the paltry services we are receiving from DHCA's
no-bid contract demands further scrutiny of the entire process.
For the past ten years, paramedic services were provided by Danbury
Ambulance which also included the Town of Redding. The last few
years of service of Danbury Ambulance have been without a contract
with Bethel. The previous agreement with Danbury Ambulance provided
twenty four hour, seven days per week coverage to Bethel. Danbury
Ambulance supplied their own manpower, vehicles, vehicle maintenance,
vehicle housing, equipment for each vehicle and insurance. Under
the agreement Danbury Ambulance would respond to all first calls
100% of the time and if a second call came in while the first
call was still pending, they would respond 90% of the time. In
fact, statistics show that not only did Danbury Ambulance always
meet its contractual obligation in responding to first calls but
responded to second calls 97% of the time. There were additional
times when they responded to a third call while first and second
calls were still pending when they were not obligated to do so.
During the time period when Danbury Ambulance was providing paramedic
services to Bethel, there was never a Bethel complaint filed against
it with the local authority, the Danbury Hospital Medical Control,
the State of Connecticut or with the town of Bethel itself.
In 2006 First Selectman Bob Burke requested proposals for a paramedic
intercept program for the Town of Bethel. Danbury Ambulance submitted
a proposal which called for virtually an all inclusive contract
for three years. The cost for the first year was to be $300,637;
the second, $311,159; and, the third, $327,049. Had the administration
accepted the proposal, the cost for 2009 would have been $27,254.09
per month for all manpower, all paramedic vehicles, all vehicle
maintenance, all fuel, all paramedic equipment and supplies, and
all insurance. Despite the exemplary record Danbury Ambulance
had exhibited in the past, Mr. Burke chose not to act on the proposal.
Two years later this same administration chose not to advertise
for bids having waived the process and also eschewed the easier
and quicker process of seeking requests for proposals. (This is
the same administration that insisted that the Charter be changed
to provide for bidding for all town services and goods except
for legal services.) Instead Mr. Burke waived the bidding to enter
into negotiations with only one paramedic provider and awarded
the contract to Danbury Health Care Affiliates (DHCA).
The present contract with DHCA (A copy was filed at the Office
of the Town Clerk of Bethel on October 1, 2008.) is for an initial
period from October 1, 2008 to June 30, 2010 and is automatically
renewed every three years unless terminated. Like the agreement
with Danbury Ambulance, DHCA provides twenty four hour, seven
days per week paramedic coverage to Bethel. Like Danbury Ambulance,
DHCA will respond to all first calls 100% of the time and if a
second call came in while the first call was still pending, they
would respond 90% of the time. Like Danbury Ambulance, DHC will
supply and pay for its manpower. This is where the contract similarities
end.
In exchange for the services of DHCA, DHCA shall be compensated
$247,722.94 from October 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009; $342,072.94
from July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010; and, $354,280.21 from
July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. This breaks down to a 2009
monthly cost of $28,015.43, an annual increase of $9,136.08 over
the Danbury Ambulance proposal for the same time period, without
including the items listed below.
What is not provided by DHCA under the contract and is the responsibility
of the town is:
A four wheel drive paramedic vehicle equipped with all necessary
advanced life support supplies, fuel, all repairs, maintenance,
and insurance.
A back up four wheel drive paramedic vehicle.
Automobile liability insurance in the amount of $1,000,000.
Adequate housing and resting accommodations, in the Town of
Bethel, for DHCA paramedics, their equipment and vehicle(s).
While the contract with DHCA provides for a response to all first
calls 100% of the time and if a second call came in while the
first call was still pending, they would respond 90% of the time,
there is no second vehicle and crew to respond. During consideration
of this contract, DHCA was asked how they would respond to a second
call. They answered that the second call will come from "mutual
aid" from other towns! Brookfield and Newtown's policy is
to respond only if there is a mass causality incident. Danbury
this past year responded to 8,000 emergency medical service calls
and called for mutual aid from Bethel, Ridgefield, Brookfield
and others over 400 times! It is questionable whether Bethel can
rely on receiving mutual aid from its surrounding towns.
The users of these paramedic services will pay for services.
All paramedic user fees will be paid to DHCA. If payments by users
exceed the annual payments and the actual expenditures incurred
by DHCA, the town will receive a refund or a credit. If DHCA's
actual expenditures exceed the contractual amount for the year
and the user fees are insufficient to cover the shortfall, the
town will be responsible for the difference!
The First Selectman owes Bethel's taxpayers an explanation. Why
did Mr. Burke not accept the proposal of Danbury Ambulance two
years ago? Why did he not put the paramedic services out to bid
or at least ask for proposals? Why did he not insist on inclusion
of basic items, i.e. vehicles, fuel, equipment, etc. as was proposed
by Danbury Ambulance? Where in the budget are these considerable
additional costs and when did voters approve them?
When compared to the Danbury Ambulance proposal, Bethel under
the current contract appears to be paying at least $9,000 more
annually, plus the costs of the excluded items (many on a recurring
basis), with no cap on actual expenditures and will be receiving
less in services from DHCA. The taxpayers deserve an explanation.
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