Ambulance chief says he doesn’t need tax money
Share this story:
The embattled boss of Cypress Creek EMS says his company doesn’t need the Emergency Service District #11 contract to stay in business, even though that government contract accounts for almost the entire CCEMS budget.
Taxpayers from Tomball to Spring pay about $10 million in taxes for their 911 service. The rest of the money comes from the medical bills resulting from the 911 service.
CCEMS has defied the Texas Attorney General, the Harris County District Attorney and the ESD #11 elected board of directors, refusing to detail who is on the payroll, even though they are paid with taxpayer money.
The ESD Board has threatened to cut off money to CCEMS unless they turn over the records.
At a sworn deposition last week, CCEMS Executive Director Brad England detailed a plan to simply go around the ESD, even though they are responsible for handing out 911 contracts. England suggested he would simply go to the MUD Districts and get them to put a fee on water bills, like they did in the old days before Emergency Service District Boards.
“This guy thinks taxpayers will volunteer to pay twice as much for the same service just cuz,” says Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting. “The ESD needs to do his job, and show Mr. England who is in charge of 911 service. The CCEMS Board needs to stop the secrecy, because their games could jeopardize the ambulance service of half a million people.”
At the deposition, England claimed CCEMS could always find another territory to run their ambulances, even though all the paramedics are currently paid with taxpayer dollars.
“Mr. England clearly would rather lose the ESD contract than simply tell taxpayers exactly who is on their payroll and show them the records of how he spends their money,” says Dolcefino. “England was more than willing to convince taxpayers to raise taxes to help pay for the ambulance service. The CCEMS Board needs to decide who is more important, Mr. England or half a million taxpayers.”
Keep up with us on social media:
