Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Medical Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident asks council for details on ambulance contracts and finances; city provides no immediate response
Summary
During public comment at the Jan. 16 Auburn City Council meeting, resident Pam Okasic asked why the city repeatedly renewed a prior ambulance contract from 2006 to 2020, whether formal complaints had been filed against the prior provider, and whether the ambulance operation is currently profitable; no substantive response is recorded in the meeting transcript.
Pam Okasic of 120 Chapman Avenue used the public comment period at the Jan. 16 Auburn City Council meeting to press the council for information about the city’s ambulance service.
Okasic asked why, if the city had been dissatisfied with the prior ambulance provider’s performance, the city continued to renew that contract repeatedly from February 2006 until February 2020. She asked why multiple renewals occurred and whether formal complaints had been filed against the prior provider; she said she “can't find a single complaint” filed.
Okasic also referenced a published interview dated Nov. 8, 2021, in which a representative of the newer ambulance service said the operation would be self-funded (paying costs through patient revenue rather than taxes). She asked how much profit the ambulance service currently generates for the city and whether it remains “majorly in the red.” Her final question at the podium was: “How much of a profit is it currently making, or is it still majorly in the red at this point?”
Meeting minutes show the council did not provide an on-the-spot answer to the questions during public comment; after Okasic finished she was thanked and the meeting moved on to the next agenda item. No staff or councilor response that addressed Okasic’s specific financial or procurement questions is recorded in the transcript segment for public comment.
The questions raised concern contract renewal history, complaint records and the finances of ambulance service provision; the transcript does not indicate follow-up action or responses were given during the meeting.
