HIGHTSTOWN: Borough eyes township for EMS in future

By Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
   HIGHTSTOWN — Mayor Bob Patten is asking East Windsor to include the borough in its next private contract for emergency medical services while fellow Republican and Councilman Mike Theokas has called the current arrangement with Robbinsville a “bad deal.”
   Prompted by the mayor, Borough Administrator Candace Gallagher told the council at its March 5 budget meeting that the mayor had instructed her to draft a letter to the township, asking to be a part of its next negotiations when its contract with Monmouth Ocean Hospital Services Corp. runs out May 2010.
   ”Excellent,” council President Walter Sikorski said at the budget meeting as Ms. Gallagher reported the mayor’s instructions.
   East Windsor Mayor Janice Mironov said Wednesday that the Township Council would discuss the matter when the request is received. Ms. Gallagher said the letter was sent Wednesday.
   Hightstown is paying about $208,000 a year to Robbinsville for EMS service under an interlocal agreement. The coverage is supplemented by borough volunteers three nights a week.
   The agreement with Robbinsville, forged by Mayor Patten in early 2007, has for a second year become a focal point of the council’s attention as it tries to fill a budget shortfall, this time totaling $510,000 — the equivalent of about a $24-cent tax increase under last year’s property valuation.
   ”It is not clear what to do, but it is clear that the situation with Robbinsville is what not to do,” Councilman Mike Theokas said. “I feel strongly that we can not continue to go forward with the current situation.”
   Volunteer First Aid Squad Capt. Curtis Crowell told the council at its previous budget meeting Feb.26 that he believes the solution is an agreement with East Windsor. Mr. Crowell — husband of Councilwoman Isabel McGinty — said East Windsor is the borough’s “obvious partner” and added it is “shameful” such a deal hasn’t already been worked out.
   Mayor Patten seemed resistant at that time, saying Hightstown shouldn’t only consider East Windsor as a possible EMS partner.
   [vmo: could be cut for space: ]He also said Mayor Mironov — with whom he has had a contentious relationship for years — had indicated to him in a letter that East Windsor was not interested in sharing any services with Hightstown until the borough government “gets our act together.”
   [vmo: along with this: ]In January 2007, Mayor Mironov and two East Windsor Township Council members sent a letter to Mayor Patten, responding to a request he made Jan. 24 of that year that the township decide by Feb. 5 whether it wanted to join Hightstown in a garbage collection service. Mayor Mironov responded in her letter by saying it was not nearly enough time to fully investigate the issue, and East Windsor’s government was not run by “the seat of our pants.”
   [vmo: and along with this: ]The letter also stated the East Windsor mayor and council did not want to be dragged into Hightstown politics, and they were tired of Mayor Patten blaming the borough’s financial situation on the township.
   In 2005, East Windsor had offered to let Hightstown join the township on a five-year contract with MONOC for EMS service. Mayor Mironov has said she personally had spoken with Mayor Patten and written the borough about joining East Windsor in the MONOC contract, however, the borough decided against it.
   The offer was rejected, borough officials have said, because at the time Hightstown was getting free EMS service from St. Francis Emergency Medical Services. That arrangement ended in November 2005 when the borough paid $17,000 to continue the service until Jan 2, 2006.
   Councilman Jeff Bond said at the March 5 budget meeting that a deal with East Windsor is a long-term solution, but a short-term solution is needed until negotiations could begin at the end of the township’s current deal.
   ”I think that East Windsor is probably our best avenue for the future, but I don’t want to wait until May of 2010,” Mr. Bond said. “We ought to realize that there is some immediacy to this.”
   Those sentiments were shared by Mr. Theokas.
   ”I would hate to be here a year from now having paid another $208,000 for a bad deal,” Mr. Theokas said.
   Councilwoman Theokas suggested the council contact Robbinsville and set a date to withdraw from the agreement a few months in the future. He said that would give the borough time to find another arrangement while adding a sense of urgency.
   ”I know I work better with a deadline,” he said. “I think we would work better with a deadline too.”
   Councilman Bond also suggested the borough might be able to extend volunteer coverage to seven nights a week and only pay for service from Robbinsville during the day.
   The council did not take official action on either suggestion.
   Councilman Larry Quattrone, who has worked closely with borough First Aid volunteers, was hesitant about cutting the Robbinsville service.
   ”Things are getting really drastic when we are talking about putting money ahead of lives,” he said.