Pa. Twp. to Pay $10K for Service Breach

Dec. 19--Sewickley Township supervisors this week approved a $10,000 payment to Jeannette EMS Inc. to settle its lawsuit against the supervisors for allegedly breaching its service contract by terminating the agreement.

The three supervisors unanimously approved the lump-sum payment to Jeannette EMS during a board meeting. The settlement was $153,000 less than the ambulance service had sought in the lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County Court in July 2013.

"Our only comments on the settlement are that it is not yet finalized, and the terms are confidential," said Pittsburgh attorney William H. Stewart III, who represented Jeannette EMS in the lawsuit.

Michael Cafasso, the ambulance service chief executive, could not be reached for comment.

Supervisor Alan Fossi said he negotiated the deal with ambulanceofficials last month and offered the $10,000 payment, which they accepted without making a counteroffer.

Solicitor Daniel Hewitt said he was not involved in the settlement negotiations. Both sides had filed legal documents outlining their positions, but a court date had not been set, he said.

In the lawsuit, Jeannette EMS claimed the supervisors breached the one-year service contract they had signed in April 2013 by voting to end the agreement. The ambulance service claimed it lost $163,000 in net income, based on revenue generated by 1,500 calls a year and $30,000 in subscriptions from residents. It spent almost $6,000 in repairs to an ambulance that would have been used in Sewickley, they claimed.

The township argued in its legal response that either party had the right to terminate the agreement.

Supervisors Wanda Layman and Fossi had voted in April 2013 to replace the Sewickley Township Community Ambulance Service with Jeannette's ambulance service. The supervisors were concerned that the service couldn't handle emergency duties because of its financial problems, including $200,000 in debt.

When the supervisors terminated the agreement, Fossi said, the parting was amicable and the township had given Jeannette no money.

As part of the agreement to reinstate Community Ambulance Service on a one-year contract, Rostraver/West Newton Emergency Services Inc. was to work with it to provide services and oversee its finances.

Michael Stangroom, operations director for Rostraver/West Newton, told the board this week that Community Ambulance's finances are now in good shape.

"The organization is very sound. We're doing very well," Stangroom said.

Stangroom said Community Ambulance's tax returns have been filed, and it retains its nonprofit status. The service had not filed the tax returns for a few years, Stangroom said.

Under the management of the Rostraver/West Newton service, benefits were restored to employees, Stangroom said. CommunityAmbulance has six full-time employees and 16 part-timers.

"There were issues in the past. That's all behind us," Stangroom said.

The service has purchased two advanced life-support ambulances, one new and one 2005 model, to replace 2009 and 2010 ambulances.

In other business, the supervisors approved the 2015 budget that holds the line on taxes at 12 mills -- 10 mills to support municipal operations and 2 mills for emergency services.

The $1,719,393 budget was introduced last month. It increases expenditures by 2.4 percent over the 2014 budget.

Joe Napsha is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-836-5252 or jnapsha@tribweb.com.

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