Northfield will Request Rescue Squad Proposals
NORTHFIELD - After months of discussion, City Council voted at its Tuesday meeting to put out a request for proposal, or RFP, for rescue squad services - the first step in what is expected to be a joint RFP with Linwood.
What the RFP means for the Northfield Rescue Squad is still to be determined. An audit of the Rescue Squad's 2008 finances, which had been requested for several months, was delivered to Republican Councilman Brian Smith hours before the meeting......Continue Reading
The 4-2 vote was along party lines, with all Republicans except Councilman Tim Carew, who was absent, voting in favor of the RFP and the two Democrats voting no.
RFPs are nonbinding, and Republican Councilman Steven Vain said that the council owes it to taxpayers to look for savings wherever it can.
"The bottom line is that we have to make a decision," Vain said. "We've been hemming and hawing for the last year and a half. We're not going to know anything unless we go out to RFP. ... Even if (the bids) come back with no savings for the city, then (at least) we've done our job."
The rescue squad has been mostly self-sufficient since it began billing insurance companies in early 2008. It currently operates under a one-year memorandum of understanding that expires in May. Squad President Frank Perri, a former Democratic mayor, recently put forward a proposal to the city that the squad would seek no financial aid from the city in 2009.
Perri has said that the squad started to pay its fuel costs starting with the January bills, and estimated the cost of insurance at about $5,000.
Democratic Councilman Jimmy Martinez, who has expressed his support for the squad's proposal, questioned going forward with the RFP without any documentation. Vain responded that once an RFP is put out, the council could write in any language its members wanted - including restrictions such as requiring bidders to purchase the city ambulance, for example.
"We have to agree to go out before we write the RFP," Vain said. "You can put anything you want in an RFP. (But) sitting here talking about it is not going to get anything done. ... We have no idea if we're getting the best bang for the dollar."
Council President Cindy Kern, a Republican, expressed frustration with the slowness of the squad's audit - "Another week passes with no information," Kern said. "We can't keep putting it off" - but also cautioned that the RFP doesn't necessarily endanger the current squad.
"I think what worries everyone is (the idea that) going out to RFP disrespects the rescue squad we have now," Kern said. "We're just looking at numbers. They can put in (a bid) as well."
Mayor Vince Mazzeo, a Democrat, questioned what savings would be found in comparison to the squad's proposal to come in at "zero cost" - adding that even when the squad requested financial aid, it cost the city just $50,000 in 2008, with an additional $10,000 to $20,000 in fuel, insurance and other costs.
"I hope in the upcoming budget cycle that we look at all departments with the same intensity we seem to be looking at the rescue squad here," said Democratic Councilman Jason O'Grady.
E-mail Steven Lemongello: SLemongello@pressofac.com
This story was taken from the news source stated above. It is not necessarily the opinion of The Elwood Vol. Fire Company or it's members.
