Ambulance coordinators resign: budget questions remain

Recent and proposed budget cuts from the state have put a lot of pressure on the city of Onaway and the surrounding townships as they plan for the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Board members have been looking diligently at every line item of their budgets before granting approval. The Onaway Area Ambulance board in particular has been feeling the stress of the budget constraints and it has affected them on a personal level. At the last Onaway Area Ambulance board meeting, assistant coordinator/billing clerk, Sally Grainger submitted her letter of resignation to the board. At the board?s request, she agreed to remain as billing clerk. In response, John Dunbar, the coordinator/bookkeeper also resigned his coordinator position.

?I just think it?s the best for the service,? Grainger says when asked why she made her decision. Grainger admits that the recent issues between city commissioners and the ambulance board also had an influence on her decision. One of the line items in the ambulance board budget that came under close scrutiny by the city was the wages for the coordinator, billing clerk, and bookkeeper. According to city manager?s report, wages have increased 54 percent in the last four years.

During a recent city council meeting, commissioner Jessie Palmer directly questioned the figures presented, using Grainger?s wages as an example. According to commissioner Palmer, when she served as an alternate for Mayor Gary Wregglesworth on the ambulance board, she asked about the wage line item in the budget. No response was given to her at the time as to how many hours were worked for the wages listed.

?The only information provided is that the billing clerk works 20 hours per week,? Palmer stated in a recent letter to the editor. Using the information given, commissioner Palmer calculated the assistant coordinator/billing clerk?s wages to be $28.62 an hour. Sally Grainger strongly disagrees with the figures.

?It would have been nice if she had had the facts straight,? Grainger said. ?There?s no way of saying ?I worked so many hours? because it depends on what?s going on in the week… some weeks it could be sixty hours.? Grainger feels that the reason Commisioner Palmer did not receive a straight answer to her inquiry is because, ?There is no straight answer.? The ambulance board has formed a committee to interview and hire a new coordinator by April 1. Grainger has mixed feelings as to whether one person will be able to handle the job.

?We did that before and it didn?t work real well.? Grainger said. Four years ago, the position was split between John Dunbar, Sally Grainger, and Don Grainger. Don resigned two and a half years later, leaving Sally and John to split the job duties. Grainger took on two-thirds of the job while Dunbar handled one-third.

ALTHOUGH THE Onaway Area Ambulance Service has had its share of problems in the past, within the last few years it has enjoyed enough progress to allow for an approximate $200,000 savings balance, a surplus that they plan on using to buy a new ambulance this year. ?Why? I don?t know,? said commissioner Bernie Schmeltzer at the city council meeting Monday. Schmeltzer suggested the board consider a payment plan for the vehicle, letting the current funds draw interest.

?They?ve never paid cash for an ambulance, never,? Mayor Gary Wregglesorth said. Wregglesworth stated that the other entities involved in the ambulance board would most likely approve the second draft of the budget. ?The townships have a lot different view. We?re in the minority out there and it doesn?t matter how right or wrong we are for the city, we are faced with the reality of eight to one.? Wregglesworth said. However, the majority vote of the commissioners decided against approving the second draft of the ambulance budget. As of Wednesday, Forest Township and Beringer Township had also voted ?no? on the budget.

?I believe that there?s a couple other areas that could be pared down.? Commissioner Schmeltzer stated. In particular, the commissioner cited the equipment rental line and the contingency expense, budgeted items that have rarely been needed over the past few years.

AS FOR GRAINGER, the impending decisions regarding the budget do not affect her decision to leave. She

hopes the next coordinator has the personal skills needed for the job and that they are from the area. ?We have found in the past if it?s somebody locally or from this area they have more roots and they?re more caring to this area. This is our hometown, we grew up here.? Grainger admits that her years of serving on the ambulance service have been good ones and she would hate to see the progress they have made, decline in the coming years. ?We?ve come a long ways in the last four years. We worked really hard to get it where it is today.? Grainger says. ?I?d like to see us continue to grow and update our equipment.?

The next Onaway Area Ambulance Board meeting is scheduled for March 17, and the board will review the budget at that time.