Tom
05-16-2009, 08:14 PM
The outlook for Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance service is uncertain following a Town Meeting vote May 4 accepting a budget that cuts three firefighter/paramedic jobs July 1.
The vote to go along with Town Administrator Michael Boynton's recommendation came after Town Meeting representatives defeated a motion to maintain the positions into October in order to provide more time for ongoing negotiations for a new firefighters' contract.
Finance Committee Chairman Thomas Jalkut and FinCom member Carol Lane indicated to Town Meeting that going against Boynton's recommended cuts would interfere with labor negotiations. "Town Meeting floor is not a place to negotiate a contract," Lane said.
Firefighters unsuccessfully sought support of Town Meeting for fully staffing eight-man shifts, which they view as a matter of safety for themselves and the public. With crews divided between the central and East Walpole stations, fewer than eight firefighters on duty would mean first responders could face the prospect of one man going into a burning building alone, firefighters said in the fall in an unsuccessful attempt to avert the loss of one position in the current fiscal year.
Boynton told Town Meeting Tuesday night that meeting the contractual requirement for eight-person shifts has cost the town heavy overtime -- recently requiring a $120,000 from reserves -- in the four or five years since the combined start of ALS service and reopening on the East Walpole station.
The dispute over staffing appears to be a reason why agreement has not been reached on a new contract to replace the pact that had been set to expire last July.
In response to questions from the floor, Fire Chief Timothy Bailey said that with one position already eliminated, he is not certain whether the department could continue to provide ALS service with the loss of three more firefighter/paramedics. (While some of the older firefighters are not also paramedics, the new ones, most vulnerable to layoffs, all are.) Overtime, the chief noted, is necessary when firefighters are out for extended periods with injuries; two are now.
The state requires ALS services to have two paramedics on duty at all times. Failure to meet that requirement would mean that Walpole's paramedics could no longer employ advanced life-saving techniques for victims of heart attack and stroke.
At the request of TM representative and school nurse Betty Nashawaty, Caritas Norwood Hospital emergency medicine director Andrew Gellar was allowed to address Town Meeting. Dr. Gellar urged that state certification not be jeopardized, noting that ALS crews soon will be allowed to use a new resuscitation technique that will save lives of more cardiac arrest victims.
Firefighters asked that the balance of the town's ambulance fund left after the purchase of a new ambulance be used to continue eight-man shifts for the coming fiscal year.
The motion that reached the floor was made by Ellen Nadeau, to use ambulance money to keep three paramedics on into October. On a divided voice vote, Town Meeting instead backed the FinCom in approving elimination of the three positions as of July 1.
Town Meeting will return Wednesday, May 6, to finish the warrant, with a funding for a proposed new library, subject to an override vote, the main item.
The vote to go along with Town Administrator Michael Boynton's recommendation came after Town Meeting representatives defeated a motion to maintain the positions into October in order to provide more time for ongoing negotiations for a new firefighters' contract.
Finance Committee Chairman Thomas Jalkut and FinCom member Carol Lane indicated to Town Meeting that going against Boynton's recommended cuts would interfere with labor negotiations. "Town Meeting floor is not a place to negotiate a contract," Lane said.
Firefighters unsuccessfully sought support of Town Meeting for fully staffing eight-man shifts, which they view as a matter of safety for themselves and the public. With crews divided between the central and East Walpole stations, fewer than eight firefighters on duty would mean first responders could face the prospect of one man going into a burning building alone, firefighters said in the fall in an unsuccessful attempt to avert the loss of one position in the current fiscal year.
Boynton told Town Meeting Tuesday night that meeting the contractual requirement for eight-person shifts has cost the town heavy overtime -- recently requiring a $120,000 from reserves -- in the four or five years since the combined start of ALS service and reopening on the East Walpole station.
The dispute over staffing appears to be a reason why agreement has not been reached on a new contract to replace the pact that had been set to expire last July.
In response to questions from the floor, Fire Chief Timothy Bailey said that with one position already eliminated, he is not certain whether the department could continue to provide ALS service with the loss of three more firefighter/paramedics. (While some of the older firefighters are not also paramedics, the new ones, most vulnerable to layoffs, all are.) Overtime, the chief noted, is necessary when firefighters are out for extended periods with injuries; two are now.
The state requires ALS services to have two paramedics on duty at all times. Failure to meet that requirement would mean that Walpole's paramedics could no longer employ advanced life-saving techniques for victims of heart attack and stroke.
At the request of TM representative and school nurse Betty Nashawaty, Caritas Norwood Hospital emergency medicine director Andrew Gellar was allowed to address Town Meeting. Dr. Gellar urged that state certification not be jeopardized, noting that ALS crews soon will be allowed to use a new resuscitation technique that will save lives of more cardiac arrest victims.
Firefighters asked that the balance of the town's ambulance fund left after the purchase of a new ambulance be used to continue eight-man shifts for the coming fiscal year.
The motion that reached the floor was made by Ellen Nadeau, to use ambulance money to keep three paramedics on into October. On a divided voice vote, Town Meeting instead backed the FinCom in approving elimination of the three positions as of July 1.
Town Meeting will return Wednesday, May 6, to finish the warrant, with a funding for a proposed new library, subject to an override vote, the main item.