Excerpts from the rblandmark.com:
On Nov. 18, even though the company’s proposal was the more expensive option, a majority of the North Riverside village board said they would vote in favor of extending a contract for another five years for paramedic services with Paramedic Services of Illinois (PSI), which has provided paramedic services for the village for more than three decades.
But that extension was conditioned on the village administration pledging to explore the North Riverside Firefighters Union Local 2714 proposal to hire full-time and part-time paramedics in order to wean the village from its reliance on a private company.
Two of the paramedic proposals submitted to the village on Aug. 16 were from private firms, PSI and Metro Paramedic Services. Each submitted a proposal for a five-year contract, with Metro’s price coming in at $2,415,441, compared to PSI’s $2,530,200.
North Riverside Firefighters Union 2714 also submitted a proposal to staff the village ambulances with part-time paramedics, but the proposal didn’t meet the requirements of the village’s request.
A quick calculation performed by the village’s fire chief, but not submitted to the administration prior to Nov. 18, indicated such a proposal could cost an estimated $2.1 million over five years, but the finance director said she couldn’t vouch for the figures.
The union’s proposal was inspired by the Village of Bensenville’s solution for paramedic staffing, employing in-house full- and part-time paramedics. Two trustees said that option was worth exploring after visiting the Bensenville Fire Department to get more information.
With only three paramedics assigned full time by PSI to North Riverside, and with PSI’s contract extension twisting in the wind, Fire Chief John Kiser said it was becoming difficult to convince contract paramedics to commit to being assigned permanently to North Riverside. While the village’s ambulance is fully staffed each shift, the turnover in personnel on those shifts is enormous. He also suggested extending PSI’s contract at this time to avoid a change that could result in an all-new crew of paramedics being assigned to North Riverside.
Two trustees opposed extending PSI’s contract, with one proposing to throw out the proposals the village accepted in August and seek new ones, even though PSI’s latest proposal represents a decrease in the fee the village now pays. He said that by rejecting the proposals and seeking new ones, the companies would get the message that they need to be more competitive. In fiscal year 2019-20, North Riverside budgeted $523,000 for paramedic services. Over five years, such a fee would equate to $2,615,000.
The village board will formally vote to extend the contract with PSI at its meeting on Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. in the council chamber of the Village Commons, 2401 Desplaines Ave.
