DA subpoenas payroll records from defiant ambulance service
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The Harris County District Attorney has subpoenaed five years of payroll records from Cypress Creek Emergency Medical Services, setting the stage for yet another showdown on a taxpayer funded ambulance service that simply refuses to play by the rules.
The subpoena was served on CCEMS Chief Executive Brad England, who has led the fight for secrecy, ignoring the District Attorney and the Texas Attorney General. England won’t even divulge how much he makes, although 2013 tax returns put the figure then at nearly $180,000 dollars.
The fight began when Dolcefino Consulting sought records detailing the payroll of CCEMS employees paid with more than 7 million tax dollars from homeowners living between Tomball and Spring. The Harris County District Attorney filed criminal charges against CCEMS last December. CCEMS has filed suit twice against the Texas Attorney General trying to keep records secret.
“The subpoena should just be the start,” says Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting. “The elected safety commissioners in the area have an obligation to either demand transparency or cut off the money. This is absurd.”
The investigation by Dolcefino Consulting has already uncovered questionable spending, and bidding irregularities in the ambulance service. CCEMS also refuses to disclose the weapons some medics are carrying on ambulances, part of a tactical unit that refuses to share with the public how much it is costing.
CCEMS has a budget of more than 20 million dollars to operate 15 ambulances. The money comes from property taxes and the bills for the 911 service. CCEMS is now spending tens of thousands of those dollars, trying to keep secrets.
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