TOWN OF WEBSTER AMBULANCE SERVICE OPTIONS UPDATE
September 28, 2023 1
Summary of Short-term Options Presented at the May 25, 2023, Town Board Workshop
Town Proposed Options
NEQALS Proposed Options
Contingency Option
No Change
Additional funding for next 8 months with no contract changes
Change service provider to Penfield Volunteer Ambulance
Additional funding with no contract changes
Additional funding for next 12 months with no contract changes
Additional funding with performance measures Additional funding with NEQALS business model changes 2
September 28, 2023 September 20th – 25th
June 8th
July 14th
August 15th
2-hour Public meeting at Webster Thomas High School with panel for Q & A (approx. 80 in attendance; 50 questions asked and answered)
Town Attorney formally requests to NEQALS attorney, 2022 Financial Audit & 18-month payer mix by no later than July 31st
Town received NEQALS 2022 financial audit; payer mix data from Jan. 2022-June 2023 not provided.
June 14th
July 31st
Tentative deadline for short term option decision extended to be 45 days after receipt of NEQALS 2022 Financial Audit.
NEQALS leadership informs Town that they are in process of changing legal representation; 2022 audit will be forthcoming soon.
NEQALS attorney sent 2 proposed contract amendments to Town Attorney: Money, metrics, 5-year extension through 2030
September 1st - Present Town reps and Russ Ziskind-CEO of Syracuse based EMS agency work with NEQALS to determine payer mix. Questions currently remain. 3
Summary of Long-term Options Presented at the May 25, 2023, Town Board Workshop
➢ No change ➢ Town Employee Ambulance ➢ RFP for ALS/BLS
➢ Ambulance Tax District ➢ EMS Consolidation ➢ Other? Long term options are not mutually exclusive 4
September 28, 2023, Update on Long Term Options University of Rochester Simon Business School MBA Team to start
research on long term options on October 1, 2023 University of Rochester Simon Business School MBA Team
tentatively will present their research findings in early December 2023. Town legal representation has been researching the municipal
owned Certificate of Need (CON). The Town of Webster must determine if the RISK vs. AUTHORITY that the CON provides the Town makes sense in 2024 and beyond. 5
General Updates ➢ Short term option decision; factors still needing to be discerned that will
delay October 1st tentative deadline: ▪ Payer mix of Webster’s approximate 4,000 EMS calls annually.
Does this decision go beyond financial subsidy? ▪ Penfield Volunteer Ambulance developed 90-day transition plan; currently under review by Town Board. ▪
➢ Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) from Nov. 2022 believed to be
unenforceable by Committee on Open Government based on current contractual relationship; Town continues to honor spirit of that NDA with NEQALS but due diligence information will be made public if NEQALS factors into short term decision.
➢ Current 5-year contract (Jan. 2021-Dec. 2025) on the Town’s outsourced
CON authorities to NEQALS covering BLS and transport has a 90-day termination clause by either party with no penalty. 6
Questions & Discussion 7