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LOCAL

Tempers flare on the cusp of mediation for ambulance service

By Jeremiah Tucker, Sauk Prairie Eagle

Heading into a meeting this week during which an outside consultant is expected to diagnose its fundamental problems, the Sauk Prairie Ambulance Service appears more divided than ever.

The regular meeting of the ambulance commission Oct. 15 began with the wife of one of the volunteer Emergency Medical Technicians protesting her husband's suspension, and before it ended, commission member Jim Anderson had chastised his fellow commissioners in a furious tirade.

Anderson lost his calm about an hour into the meeting after the commission had hashed and rehashed whether it should honor a commitment a number of Sauk Prairie's EMTs felt the commission's personnel committee had made to them.

Anderson said if the situation between the commission — which is an oversight group of 10 officials appointed by the municipalities in the ambulance service's district — and the association of volunteer EMTs that comprise the ambulance service didn't improve, he'd recommend that all the commissioners resign.

"Because this is getting to be the point of nonsense and I've just about had it up to here," Anderson said.

Anderson also serves as Sauk City Village President and said residents in the village were tired of the ongoing disputes.

"This crap is sitting here every night for two and a half hours arguing about something so stupid," Anderson said. "We got an association of people out here that are saving us a million dollars a year, I'm guessing it's easy a million dollars a year and what do we do? We sit here and nitpick like they're a bunch of criminals."

Anderson continued, his voice rising as he used two expletives, and he concluded by pounding the table, spilling his can of soda, and asking, "Do you hear me?"

As he shook off the soda he'd spilled on his papers he said, "Excuse my temper."

No members of the commission directly addressed Anderson's comments.

The discussion that led to Anderson's outburst revolved around whether disciplinary actions taken against the EMTs should stay in their personnel files indefinitely or be removed after a period of time.

EMT association president Rikky Schiller — who the commission tried to remove from the service in March — and other members of the EMT association's operations committee said they were under the impression that they reached an agreement with the commission that there would be limits on how long disciplinary actions stay in their files.

But the commission passed changes at its last meeting that removed those time limits.

Commissioner Ron Lins said the agreement the EMTs referred to was reached prior to the commission's attorney's recommendation that past disciplines should never be taken off the table when weighing an EMT's status within the service. The attorney suggested it should be left to the discretion of the service's director.

Sauk Prairie Ambulance Service Director Jason Demerath said he agreed to time limits regarding discipline, but he'd since changed his mind.

"I guess I'm not understanding, again, when a group comes together and comes to an agreement why are we throwing that out?" Schiller said.

Schiller said the commission's actions were destroying the EMTs' trust in the commission.

The commission voted down the initial agreement but passed a compromise with minor infractions staying in a personnel file for 12 or 18 months and major violations remaining indefinitely.

The subtext of the argument — which Anderson referred to in his tirade — appeared to be that some EMTs feel the changes to the operations manual could be used to remove them from the service more easily.

In the months following the commission's attempted removal of Schiller, numerous EMTs have appeared at the commission meetings to complain both about the commission's indifference to their complaints and alleging heavy-handed discipline by Demerath.

At the beginning of the commission's meeting, Stephanie Sprecher complained about the suspension of her husband, Kirk Sprecher, the vice-president of the EMT association.

"I have something to say about the way management and the commission has been treating my family and this has been going on for too long and according to the dictionary it's harassment," Stephanie said.

Stephanie was speaking in her husband's defense because, she told the commission, he was told he couldn't be on ambulance property after Demerath suspended him for 30 days earlier this month.

"He is a 19-year member of the service with no disciplinary action from the ambulance or any other job or position he's ever held," she said.

Kirk declined to comment for this article.

Stephanie concluded her comments by asking if the commission intended to eventually fire Kirk from the service.

Commission Chair Roger Mack said he couldn't comment on matters not on the agenda.

Last month the commission hired Jo Ann Wipperfurth, the CEO of Pre-Emergency Planning, LLC in Lodi to meet with the commissioners, the EMTs and Demerath and propose solutions to the service during an Oct. 22 open meeting.

Mack said he look forward to hearing what she found.