To the editor:, As a resident of Hillsborough for 29 years, I have enjoyed a strong sense of community through Girl Scouts, volunteering in the school system, as a Board of Ed member and as a member of Friends of Hillsborough Open Space to oppose the township committee’s ballot question to divert Open Space funds in 2013. A key strength of the social fabric of our community were the familiar faces of the Hillsborough Rescue Squad members at sports events, Marching Band Festival and at graduation, to name a few events. They always welcomed requests from Scout troops for a tour of their facilities. This sense of community cannot be measured in dollars and it cannot be replicated by RWJ EMS., But on Tuesday March 28, the Hillsborough township committee voted 4-0 on a resolution to choose RWJ EMS as our emergency service provider. This will provide substandard services. RWJ EMS will only provide two ambulances in Hillsborough, while the Hillsborough Rescue Squad has maintained a minimum six ambulances at two locations within Hillsborough., It was appalling that the resolution was put on the agenda only the evening before the meeting. This lack of transparency is a pattern that happens over and over. The township committee noted that RWJ EMS would provide coverage from 24/7, free of charge. However, minutes from Green Brook Township showed that RWJ EMS wanted to charge between $250,000 to $500,000 (the cost for 12 hours of evening and weekend coverage) when they were requested to provide 24 hour coverage because the volunteer squad did not have adequate staffing. What motivates RWJ to have unequal levels of service, especially for Hillsborough which is a much larger town than Green Brook?, The township committee members also mentioned several times that they wanted to have a stronger volunteer rescue organization similar to Montgomery. Who would want to volunteer in Hillsborough after they saw how our township treats our first responders? Residents, a chief of a neighboring emergency squad who had worked closely with our squad on joint rescue efforts, and EMS volunteers, had all presented their concerns to no avail. I asked the township committee to postpone their vote on the resolution to at least show respect to the many people who provided testimony in favor of retaining our current squad. It is their disdain for public opinion that compelled me to write this letter., We all need to do our part to keep our community healthy and strong. Mine is to be vigilant about troubling decisions by our elected officials that weaken the social fabric of our beloved town., Thuy Anh Le, Hillsborough
