Posted by wlpo on January 25, 2012
The discussion about the ambulance service in Peru goes deeper than finances. For the people who work for it or have, it’s personal. Staff and board members of the Peru Volunteer Ambulance packed the Peru city council chambers Tuesday night while their board member Henry Hackman presented the service to city officials.
During the meeting, PVAS Director Mark Roberson said you couldn’t take all of the emotion out of the discussion. Afterwards he agreed with a statement by the city’s fire chief that the emergency services work well together.
Roberson hopes they’ll be able to have a long-term contract with the city.
But they don’t have a contract now, instead the city council has agreed to pay PVAS four $4,000 a month, or $48,000 a year for the service.
Whether or not the city needed to bid out the service caused a disagreement between a couple of the current aldermen and former mayor, Don Baker.
Alderman Rodney Perez said the meeting was meant to help city officials get more information and that nobody was questioning the quality of PVAS’ work, still the as the crowd cleared people were irritated.
15 comments:
Did Roberson present at all or was it all Henry Hackman?
All Hackman. I understand the fear of the employees when the city is looking at alternatives but this presentation should have been made by those in charge and perhaps one or two of the full time employees and all others and their ambulances back at the station waiting for calls.
If there had not been a so called audience for those protesting the presentation, all would have gone much smoother and perhaps there might have been calm and intelligent give and take.
I assume Roberson brought them along for some purpose that was not accomplished and took away from the professionalism that should have been presented.
The place was also filled with Peru Fireman. Was Rodney looking for support?
2:19 PM The place was not filled with firemen, that was last week. This week is was filled with PVAS employees.
Lois,
Do you even know who were PVAS members present at the meeting?? No more than TWO members stood and said anything?? How is that taking away from the professionalism?? What took away from professionalism is citizens of Peru concerned that they may be getting an ambulance service from the suburbs! Since we all know that LaSalle hired "locally"... hahah.. what a joke...hmm how many PSI employees in LaSalle are from local towns??? hmmm..To my understanding there is ONE person that lives in LaSalle only.. Lois, the points you bring up on this blog are nothing but problem stirrers! And did you ever think that maybe you have NO knowledge on this ambulance service. It's a shame to see that someone with NO knowledge on PVAS is telling our community false information.. If I had to bet you couldn't do what the members of PVAS do on a daily basis! Maybe it is time to sit back and listen to the truth????
11:30 AM
I do have a medical background.
Ya in a HOSPITAL!!!!
11:39 AM
I don't know exactly the number present but you had 5 ambulances outside, so I think 10 as the least number and possibly as many as 15 t0 20. If they came in their own vehicles, that leaves the number open.
Does it matter? I do know the ambulance service was well represented.
Don't blame Lois for the ambulance discussions/ fiasco. She was only reporting the opinions. Please remember at the meeting ALD.Perez said it was the cities idea to review the services. And Ald.Ferrari who is the other member of the committee said it was not his idea to change service. That would be a committee of one. Maybe the rest of the alderman will agree with Perez, maybe its the Mayor. Who knows? But Lois did not organize the meetings or create the events. She has a right to ask questions of PVAS. It might be time to ask questions of the supportive council members that want a city service!
11:46 AM
And you transport people to hospitals everyday to be taken care of by people that work there, that must frighten you?
I certainly do not understand the "it's not broken so let's fix it" mentality that Mr. Perez is bringing to this issue. During the last months of my mother's life, unfortunately, we utilized the services of PVAS far too often. I was calmed by & impressed with the level of care, knowledge & professionalism they all exhibited. I truly believe they saved her life more than once & I will be eternally grateful for that. So why, Mr. Perez et. al. , this push to farm these so very important jobs to outsiders who do not know our community or it's residents personally? Please explain.
NN
NN, 11:36 AM
Mr Perez is simply doing his job as required by the state of Illinois. He happens to be on the city of Peru safety committee and when anything that costs the city over 20,000 a year, the state requires that we go out for bids so that we are getting whatever at the lowest possible cost. Therefore he has opened the bidding to any qualified EMS service to come and give us a price and that is why we are having different companies come in to tell us what they have and they will all give us a price, if they are interested in providing service to our city. PSI that serves La Salle was the first and they will be soon giving us a cost. The second was from Fire Chief Petrakis of Princeton and that was strictly informational as they do not wish to provide us a service. In a few weeks it will be Kurtz EMS from New Lenox and I believe there will be one more.
This had nothing to do with the ambulance personnel but it has to do with the $ paid by the city.
Does not have to go out for bid. The council can vote on it and if its 2/3 majority it can pass with out bids. Has a vote ever come up to retain PVAS? No it hasn't. Do you know why? Mr Perez has motives to replace PVAS. And that would be to get his friend Jeff King a $120,000 a year salary, with is hard earned taxpayer money. So you continue to say Mr. Perez is doing his job, I say HA HA!!!!!
It is required to go out for bid, required by the state of Illinois. Look it up.
Ald. Perez is a volunteer fireman and Jeff King is his boss, that is as far as it goes and please believe me on that one.
Look it up, it can pass with a 2/3 majority vote. No bid needed. Perez is not a volunteer because the fire department does not have volunteers he is a POC. Why shoulod I believe you on anything? All you do is print half truths and lies, with no research.
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