MissouriEMS
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I am an EMT and Paramedic student (2 months left!) in central Missouri and I have worked at the same district since I became an EMT 3 & 1/2 years ago.
Things have always seemed unstable financially for the district but lately i've been getting the feeling that things aren't as they seem.
First off, we're a tax based district but we get almost nothing from taxes as we operate in a town with no major retailers or anything substantial to tax (population of 3000)
We're also non-profit.
We run two crews 24/7. one ALS truck staffed by a paramedic and EMT, and a BLS truck staffed by 2 EMTS. The BLS truck acts as a backup for 911 calls and also handles many transfers from a nearby hospital. We run around 1200 calls a year give or take a couple hundred.
So here is the reason I'm starting to suspect some sort of corruption or stealing, or "something" that's not right.
First off, we have board members who have had 1 meeting in the last 3 years. Also, 2 of the board seats are currently empty and have been for as long as I can remember.
The "financial officer" is also the town mayor and the owner of a local "bi-weekly loans" business.
We recently bought a new truck, which took us over a year and a half to get as something went wrong with the loan process. We were driving a hand-me-down 1986 ford van style ambulance that the district had to buy in a pinch when our other truck broke down (which was also 2nd hand from the hospital)
About 6 months ago the purchase of the truck was delayed again because the IRS had put a hold on the stations bank account for back taxes. anyways the truck was finally here and things were looking up after they got the IRS thing taken care of (had something to do with $50,000 in back taxes)
now, 2 weeks ago we got paid on friday. The boss told us to wait a couple of hours because the financial officer was moving money around, something to do with moving the districts bank account to a new bank. I made it to their bank and they refused to cash it, saying there was insufficient funds in the districts bank account!
I was told it had something to do with payroll taxes and the bank putting a levy on the account. They said it was at the fault of our bookkeeping which they fired and hired a new one afterwards.
I went to my boss and after running around I deposited the check into my bank as they told me it would be good by the time it was put through. 4 days later the check bounced and money was deducted from my checking (plus a $19 return check fee)
My bank ended up saying it would take a week before i got it back so my boss got a new check written for me.
So I took it to their bank (i was told everything was fixed at this point and there was 50k+ in the districts account) and they refused to cash it again, saying there was insufficient funds!!
Later that day it ended up getting fixed and I got paid (2 days before the next payday!)
This is just one small debacle that has recently happened.
My position at this district is defined as "part time" although I work 3 shifts of 24 hours a week (72 hours total per week).
I go in, check the truck, and put down 1 "regular" hour, and 24 "on-call" hours on my time sheet.
We are paid $40 for the total shift, and then $10/hr for any call we run.
We get no vacation, no sick time, no insurance. no benefits AT ALL.
the district has 2 "full time" EMT's which are salaried and run strictly 911 calls (average about 1 per day) they stay at the station from 8am to 4pm and then go home if they live in town. They get vacation, insurance, the works.
Now 1 of these salaried EMTs are not even working anymore. She was diagnosed with cancer and is currently trying to get on disability, but is still on the payroll so that she gets her regular paycheck and insurance benefits without working. She comes in once every 2 weeks, just to get her free pay check. The boss fills out her time sheet as if she's working, and then the "part-time" employees work the shift for half of what she is paid.
Between the shady IRS problems, bouncing checks, bank levies, missing board members, no board meetings, and people on the payroll who aren't working there just has to be something amiss.
My boss once mentioned that the district brings in about $500,000 a year, and that $300,000 of it was payroll.
I only made $20,000 last year so I have no clue where the rest went, or why the district is always broke.
Does anyone else think there is more going on behind the scenes? and who would I even get in touch with to have it investigated?
Our patient care is fantastic, but the administrative side of this district smells fishy.
Things have always seemed unstable financially for the district but lately i've been getting the feeling that things aren't as they seem.
First off, we're a tax based district but we get almost nothing from taxes as we operate in a town with no major retailers or anything substantial to tax (population of 3000)
We're also non-profit.
We run two crews 24/7. one ALS truck staffed by a paramedic and EMT, and a BLS truck staffed by 2 EMTS. The BLS truck acts as a backup for 911 calls and also handles many transfers from a nearby hospital. We run around 1200 calls a year give or take a couple hundred.
So here is the reason I'm starting to suspect some sort of corruption or stealing, or "something" that's not right.
First off, we have board members who have had 1 meeting in the last 3 years. Also, 2 of the board seats are currently empty and have been for as long as I can remember.
The "financial officer" is also the town mayor and the owner of a local "bi-weekly loans" business.
We recently bought a new truck, which took us over a year and a half to get as something went wrong with the loan process. We were driving a hand-me-down 1986 ford van style ambulance that the district had to buy in a pinch when our other truck broke down (which was also 2nd hand from the hospital)
About 6 months ago the purchase of the truck was delayed again because the IRS had put a hold on the stations bank account for back taxes. anyways the truck was finally here and things were looking up after they got the IRS thing taken care of (had something to do with $50,000 in back taxes)
now, 2 weeks ago we got paid on friday. The boss told us to wait a couple of hours because the financial officer was moving money around, something to do with moving the districts bank account to a new bank. I made it to their bank and they refused to cash it, saying there was insufficient funds in the districts bank account!
I was told it had something to do with payroll taxes and the bank putting a levy on the account. They said it was at the fault of our bookkeeping which they fired and hired a new one afterwards.
I went to my boss and after running around I deposited the check into my bank as they told me it would be good by the time it was put through. 4 days later the check bounced and money was deducted from my checking (plus a $19 return check fee)
My bank ended up saying it would take a week before i got it back so my boss got a new check written for me.
So I took it to their bank (i was told everything was fixed at this point and there was 50k+ in the districts account) and they refused to cash it again, saying there was insufficient funds!!
Later that day it ended up getting fixed and I got paid (2 days before the next payday!)
This is just one small debacle that has recently happened.
My position at this district is defined as "part time" although I work 3 shifts of 24 hours a week (72 hours total per week).
I go in, check the truck, and put down 1 "regular" hour, and 24 "on-call" hours on my time sheet.
We are paid $40 for the total shift, and then $10/hr for any call we run.
We get no vacation, no sick time, no insurance. no benefits AT ALL.
the district has 2 "full time" EMT's which are salaried and run strictly 911 calls (average about 1 per day) they stay at the station from 8am to 4pm and then go home if they live in town. They get vacation, insurance, the works.
Now 1 of these salaried EMTs are not even working anymore. She was diagnosed with cancer and is currently trying to get on disability, but is still on the payroll so that she gets her regular paycheck and insurance benefits without working. She comes in once every 2 weeks, just to get her free pay check. The boss fills out her time sheet as if she's working, and then the "part-time" employees work the shift for half of what she is paid.
Between the shady IRS problems, bouncing checks, bank levies, missing board members, no board meetings, and people on the payroll who aren't working there just has to be something amiss.
My boss once mentioned that the district brings in about $500,000 a year, and that $300,000 of it was payroll.
I only made $20,000 last year so I have no clue where the rest went, or why the district is always broke.
Does anyone else think there is more going on behind the scenes? and who would I even get in touch with to have it investigated?
Our patient care is fantastic, but the administrative side of this district smells fishy.
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