Referendum? What referendum?! or Moco EMS fee is back

Skins_Brew said:

I am more pissed that leggett is completely disregarding a referendum and trying to push this through.

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That worthless POS is still po'd they put off upgrading his office head because of the budget cuts.

I wish the zombies in this state would wake up and start voting these douchebags out of office, clearly they're failing across the board, both locally and at the state level, and we all know about the federal level!

Doodads said:

Hey Ike,

I have a novel idea. Why don't you try to reduce spending?

1. You could stop giving in-county tuition at Montgomery College and free services to illegals.

2. You could stop the take-home car program for county employees (including yourself)
Add to this:
- Not allowing FF's to use the big trucks to make grocery store runs, surely they can take the smaller vehicles or even their personal vehicles the short drive to the stores?
- How about we curtail the MoCoPD take home program to at least have officers pay for their gas when they're using the vehicles for personal business not in uniform? and the same officers using their take home vehicles to work side jobs where they sit out of uniform in their marked vehicles in shopping center parking lots, during the heat of the summer with the ac cranked for 3-4+ hours at a time?
- Let's not forget the county school bus drivers using the buses to run personal errands, the buses should be parked after their drop off in the AM and picked up prior to their afternoon runs.

I've never seen County employees abuse the system (ie: we the tax payers) like they do here!

3. You could stop what seems to be overtime abuse by some county employees.

That's just a start, Ike. Take the ball and run with it!!

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Added a few to the above list, and I'm sure we could list a ton of ways to cut $$$ in the County, but why do that when all the liberals have to do is raise taxes to compensate?

I HAVE received a bill for Ambulance from PGCO . I ignored it , haven't seen any followup. Don't know if they somehow found an Ins Co to try to bill instead , or if they only take one stab at fishing for money.

But in general : this makes the local VFDs no longer a public spirited group serving their community , but a private ambulance co that has an unfair competive advantage , and mistreats their employees.

http://www.wtop.com/52/2861037/Montgomery-Co-considers-fees-for-ambulance-rides

Message from Ike to the constituents of his county basically boils down to "I am going to do what I want, regardless of how you voted in a public referendum..."

MJD438 said:

http://www.wtop.com/52/2861037/Montgomery-Co-considers-fees-for-ambulance-rides

Message from Ike to the constituents of his county basically boils down to "I am going to do what I want, regardless of how you voted in a public referendum..."

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And in other other news people will still vote him in office.

"If you have insurance in Montgomery County, you are paying for this cost," Leggett told WTOP in April. "The customers are already paying for it. They're paying for it right now. We just don't have a way to collect it."

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ok so I don't follow his logic here.... hes making it seem like we are throwing money down a well or black hole and hes just trying to put a net up to collect it.

Without the fees, Leggett says he'd need to cut $11 million dollars from the budget.

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What about entitlement spending? To him entitlement spending means throw teachers/police/firefighters under the bus.

What an idiot. If the insurance companies have to start paying ambulance fees, what does he think happens to OUR insurance rates? Yup, we still pay for it and the rates go up even more..

F Ike.

My Wife needed to go to the hospital in an ambulance. AA CO medic unit billed us $500.00 and told me that I did NOT have to pay, but please submit to my Insurance co. My Insurance paid me, so I paid them. AA CO Fire dept. Headquarters is in Philly, yes in Philadelphia PA.
Maryland does not need jobs I guess.

I have actually READ the document in it's entirety last time butthead tried this. It specifically states in the 3rd or 4th paragraph that the person being transported is ultimately responsible for the bill. We also have an older lady here in Damascus where I live that called her ins. co. and asked if they would pay for it and they said NO!!! According to his royal highness, she doesn't have to pay LIE, LIE, LIE!!! She only doesn't pay AFTER she submits some BS paperwork to MoCo to see if she QUALIFIES!!!! So now who full of crap!!!!

You know how you can tell when Dopey Legget is lieing? HIS LIPS ARE MOVING!!!!!

Another bad thing is that the paid firefighters are just blind pawns in all this. they were TOLD to go out to the polling places last time by the CHIEF. If you asked them any questions about the referendum, which I did, THEY HAD NO CLUE AS TO WHAT WAS IN IT!!!!! They were just doing as they were told. I don't hold this against them, but they should at least know WHY they are doing what they are doing. It just makes them look bad when a voter asks them a uestion and all they can say is "uh, I don't know"

Just read Legget is pushing the Rapid Transit System... So since we are all 99.9% certain this money generated from this Ambulance scheme is going to the general fund I have a sneaky feeling it will be used to fund this project.

mayor_quimby said:

Just read Legget is pushing the Rapid Transit System... So since we are all 99.9% certain this money generated from this Ambulance scheme is going to the general fund I have a sneaky feeling it will be used to fund this project.

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He wants to raise property taxes again (this time by $300 - $500 a year) to pay for this. From what I have seen, I don't think that many of the people who ride buses own real estate and pay property taxes.

It's all insurance based, nothing out of pocket, its a very good thing it is nothing over power of career or volunteer control, its very good it sucks it goes to the general fund but its good in any case.... The thing is insurance is figured out regionally since everyone in this region actually bills for EMS you are already paying this in your premiums all this does for Montgomery county is let's us take advantage and receive payment from the insurance companies that are already billing you for this and pocketing that money so they get a bonus at the end of the year on your dime instead of the county having money to hire more teachers police and fire fighters for emergency services yes some of that money maybe wasted on political ******** but in the long run it will make for a better county that is already cutting staffing in fire houses has horrible overtime budgets because we are now just beginning to hire fire fighters after a few years of not hiring anyone.... And yes I am A Montgomery county career fire fighter we need this....

My post is regarding EMS billing... Which comes from insurance companies....

Some people do not have insurance

Some firefighters double their pay with overtime...

http://m.washingtonexaminer.com/montgomery-county-firefighters-double-pay-with-overtime/

Just read that MoCo is going to spend $260,000 to add "wellness and innovation chiefs." The wellness coordinator ($110,000 in salary and benefits) will oversee a program aimed at improving the physical and mental health of county emplyees. The innovation officer ($150,000 in salary and benefits) will assist in putting the data the county collects to work for the residents: turning information into services through cutting-edge technology like mobile phone apps.

UFB.....Unbelievable

Doodads said:

Just read that MoCo is going to spend $260,000 to add "wellness and innovation chiefs." The wellness coordinator ($110,000 in salary and benefits) will oversee a program aimed at improving the physical and mental health of county emplyees. The innovation officer ($150,000 in salary and benefits) will assist in putting the data the county collects to work for the residents: turning information into services through cutting-edge technology like mobile phone apps.

UFB.....Unbelievable

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And yet, the transport fees that will be billed starting next year will do nothing to provide for additional public safety personnel manpower to reduce the level of overtime expenditures required due to lack of paid staffing.

To those who have posted "insurance pays", have you thought about from whom health insurers get their money? Or do you believe they will do this as a public service?

the insurance you pay for already is coveirng the billing of ems, since mo co doesnt charge yet the insurance execs get a nice fat bonus check at the end of the year, you think thats fair? further more moco has just hired more fire fighters... not in the best way but we are trying to cut overtime with staffing further more do you think you would be able to feed a family of four on 40,000 a year? so when you get on firefighters overtime think about that.... think about the fact that we are there 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year to help you, your mother, your grandmother or fathers or who ever or your kids when they need it, think about what you say about those that are there that stick our safety on the line for you, or yiour kids, or when a kid falls out of a window on the third floor of an apartment and hits the ground who goes there to help that child and rush them to the hospital, is that something you think you would want to do and do you think we walk away from that not feeling any emotion? no but most of us hold that all very deep down inside and then go back and do it again the next shift... so when you think firefighters are over paid think twice.... so ems billing will help the county and honestly it will get back to fire rescue eventually its needed... and career staffing is what most of montgomery county is so when you donate funds to a volunteer corporation, you are paying for a new cheifs truck that runs on county fuel so they can go to walmart not so they can run calls... its the career staffing there that show up when you need them 95 to 99 percent of the time.... there are 3 to 5 stations in that county that could survive as a volunteer station in the evenings but everyone of them has career staffing during the day.... so maybe you dont like ike or agree with everything he does, but think if that county doesnt find money or put it in the right place and fire houses start getting shut down and it starts taking fire rescue ten to twenty minutes to arrive when seconds count.... think how that helps..... ems reimbursement from insurance companies is already in your insurance premiums that money is a nice kick back to those execs it doesnt help you out at all.....

Drew doesn't it make you wonder when anytime there is some shortfall in the county the first thing that gets brought up : firefighters/ teachers/ police. Of everything they can cut, these 3 come up time and time again. Lets remember a few things.... this county believes its more important to pay for a $100k+ a year special nutritionist that's on call for our gov employees , a new special bus transit line, 2 brand new court houses in Rockville and so on. This money that will be "made" is going to go to the general fund. Remember years ago the state had all this money for roads then it magically disappeared and the bay bridge toll went up and people were pissed, that all went to the general fun to be used on other pet projects. I hope you realize you are being played by Legget . If Legget can come out and say this money would ONLY be used for firefighters and NEVER ever be used to fill holes in another budget im willing to listen but until then he can go pound sand.

I agree it is ridiculous, but dont think that they dont cut fire house staffing, ask your self where did truck twelve go? out of service station twelve which once had an engine truck medic and ambulance now only runs an engine medic and ambulance, where is truck two? gone, they placed a truck at 16 to cover three areas instead of those places having their own, what about the ambulance at station 9? granted hyattstown is not a busy place they are not well covered and now those people rely on frederick couonty or clarksburg to come into that area, ever driven from clarksburg to hyattstown? its not a fast drive especially when seconds count, so yes I agree it is absolutely ridiculous the way this state and county are run, but what kills me is that no one has any issue saying that we take to long to get there but we make too much or why do we drive a truck to the store, well we take a truck to a store because we are at the ready twenty four seven when you call we haul.... so yes it pisses me off the county does the shit they do, but it worries me when people think that they wont cut fire houses or police staff, and honestly for the education system in montgomery I am sorry but I dont se fixing that, and the teachers union makes sure they get everything they want, I wouldnt worry much about mo co schools..... if you think it sucks you dont have the right to protect yourself with your second amendment, think about how much worse it gets when the police department doesnt hire new officers, when fire houses staffing is cut or backed down, or if we god forbid do have rolling closures like baltimore city, you may not call 911 every day but the one day you need it think would you want the station closest to you shut down that day because funding isnt there? I agree an 80,000 dollar bathroom is outrageous and then tell the FD and PD sorry fellas no raises budget isnt there... its tough all around I agree but 4 years with no raises and starting salary of a FF is 40,000 maybe 42 now, either way how should that make the morale go up? it doesnt, but if you think that they wont cut staffing your sadly mistaken, and one of the council members cut truck 12 out of her own district.... so what does that say about the council? they dont even care about the people in their own districts...