Lebanon Rescue $$$ plight far worse than advertised

From left, auditor Ron Smith, Assistant Rescue Chief and selectman Jason Cole and Rescue Chief Samantha Cole listen as Lebanon treasurer Jeanette Lemay, out of frame, notes figures on Thursday regarding Rescue's financial dilemma. (Harrison Thorp photo)

LEBANON - With Rescue Department heads Samantha and Jason Cole looking on, the era of a so-called “self-funded” town Rescue Department ended abruptly and ignominiously Thursday night as the two were held accountable on lax treatment of accounts receivable, questionable revenue trends and an ever-increasing dependence on taxpayer money for the department to buy even everyday supplies like gasoline and medical supplies.

While the 2010 referendum that created its self-funded status may still be in place, numbers produced by Town Treasurer Jeanette Lemay and vetted by auditors, showed the department currently owes the town more than $200,000 and has been subsidized by taxpayers for a long time.

The Professional Development Room at the Hanson School was the setting for the workshop-type meeting between selectmen, the town’s treasurer, its accountants and attorney, and even though no public input was allowed, a standing room only crowd was in attendance.

According to Lemay, the precipitous decline in Rescue Department revenue over the past year was compounded recently when its billing service, Comstar of Massachusetts, advised it to write off almost $100,000 in bad debt accumulated over several years from nonpayment of ambulance services.

Assistant Rescue Chief Jason Cole acknowledged the bills were never sent for collection. He said Comstar sends out three letters after the bill is presented to the individuals who received ambulance transports. If the bills aren’t paid, the company sends out three letters, the final two threatening collections. After the third letter, however, the receivables are simply left to languish.

Auditing firm Smith and Co. owner Ron Smith questioned why the bills were not more vigorously pursued, including reporting the delinquencies to credit reporting agencies and referring the accounts to a collections agency.

Much talk centered on how much of the nearly $100,000 could be salvaged, with Lemay saying if the town could collect half it would be lucky. Others felt the amount would be far less.

It was noted, however, that even if all the receivables were miraculously recovered, the department would still be in the red and dependent on taxpayer money.

Auditors and the town’s law firm of Bourque and Clegg of Sanford became aware of the huge deficit last month, and selectmen scheduled last night’s meeting to begin trying to figure out what the town could do to “stop the bleeding” as Smith put it.

Smith also questioned why ambulance runs were about the same in 2012 and 2013, but department revenues were so far down.

“Something’s going on,” he said. “Common sense says if it’s the same type of runs, why is (revenue) so different?”

For now, the Coles will have to submit purchase orders for anything but the most necessary day-to-day expenses like gasoline and medical supplies.

“There’s still bills to pay,” Assistant Rescue Chief Jason Cole said at one point.

“Well, we can talk about that,” replied Selectmen Chair Gerrish.

Jason Cole is also a town selectman, but sat by his wife, the town’s Rescue Chief, during last night’s meeting. Samantha Cole said little, allowing her husband to explain the department’s fiscal predicament.

Neither of the Coles protested the acknowledgment that Rescue was, in fact, anything but self-funded. Oftentimes they spoke inaudibly to all except those at the main table.

The meeting began with Lemay chronicling the chain of events that led to her and auditors determining the huge Rescue deficit and ended with selectmen tentatively scheduling monthly meetings like the one last night until the town can figure out a way back to department solvency, which will depend on a lot of taxpayer money.

The thing that is so troubling, Smith said, is that the town is figuring out how taxpayer money should best be used to dig the department out after using it to keep the department going.

Speaking to town selectmen, he said, “We’re talking about what to do about deficit spending after you’ve already done it.”

When residents approved the 2010 ordinance, the theory was - and the ballot question touted – that no taxpayer money would be used to run the department.

Said one meetinggoer afterward, “Isn’t that like locking the barn door after the horse already got out?”

Selectmen went into executive session at the end of the meeting citing pending litigation issues.

For videos of Thursday's meeting go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDvQBvI2BxQ or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUrRWreWsE4