The Calhoun Citizens for Accountability Group met Thursday evening in the Little Courtroom of Calhoun County Courthouse. A group of growing membership and interest, they are making a difference in Calhoun County through holding leaders accountable for their decisions and making themselves aware of what decisions are being made.
Jason Wilson, Calhoun EMS Director was first to speak to the group on Thursday night to update them on where he, Calhoun EMS and Minnie Hamilton stood with regards to the current state of affairs in Emergency Service of Calhoun County. The question was still on everyone’s minds as to the loss of revenue Calhoun County endured because of the prior negligence of Calhoun EMS staff and Director, Julie Sears. Will anyone ever be held accountable, will there be any admission made as to the degree of damages to not only the County Agency’s reputation but the loss of trust by the citizens? The group believes these are valid questions deserving an answer. And although Wilson said he would like to give them the answer, he was still uncomfortable putting a number out that wasn’t proven as fact. This brought the accusation of coverup to the forefront of the meeting as people grow weary of not receiving an answer.
The fact is, the group wasn’t looking for an exact number. They are fully aware that no such number exists because of so many missing documents within the agency. But what they wanted was the acknowledgement that the amount of $607,000, derived from using the proven average of 60 runs per month was a low estimate of lost revenue during Julie Sears time at Calhoun EMS.
Eric Lupardus, group leader, asked Wilson “Who is now in charge of Calhoun EMS?” Because of the now defunct Calhoun EMS agency and Minnie Hamilton stepping in to rescue the agency, the question of ownership still loomed in the balance with County Levy Funding still in the mix. Wilson stated that Minnie Hamilton would be making an announcement in the next few months regarding their plans for moving the agency forward as a separate entity within Minnie Hamilton Health Systems’ Organization.
The Accountability Group wants to ensure that what has happened to bring the county to this point of despair, doesn’t happen again. The Calhoun County Commission needs to have rules of hiring in place that does not allow unqualified and unchecked staff, or untrained and uninformed boards to run agencies using County funding. Another matter that came to light during the investigation was that Commissioner Kevin Helmick either did not know, or lied regarding the hiring of Julie Sears for Calhoun EMS’s director. During a meeting Helmick stated that Sears was the only applicant that applied and that they sought her out for the position because of her skills. There was in fact seven applicants for the position, one of which was hired and soon replaced by Julie Sears, who’s application for the position was no where to be found. This leaves the possibility that this was an appointment not an hiring. Sears was also hired as the OES/911 Director. A job which in hindsight was a clear conflict of interest being that all information regarding the Emergency Services was gathered and reported by her and unchecked by either board.
The Calhoun 911 Board was said to be a board of advisement only. Which meant that Julie Sears had no supervision of decision making or mandates of reporting to the Calhoun County Commission. Newly elected Commissioner Craig Arthur should have received the appointment to set on the 911 Advisory Board but was removed by Commissioners Kevin Helmick and Matt Walker before the first meeting of the Calhoun County Commission in the new year. Helmick adamantly defended Sears’s competency in Commission meetings, refusing to acknowledge their hiring procedures were not up to government standards.
Jason Wilson told the group “I want to move forward with a better agency and plan for Calhoun County. We’re going to do it the right way and we’re going to fix it.” They’ve proven this in part by increasing the percentage of reimbursing from 35% under the Julie Sears regime to now 85% reimbursement rates of pay coming in under Minnie Hamilton’s management.
The final matters that the Accountability group want addressed is their concern of ethics of law when it was discovered that Julie Sears falsely listed Dr. Jennifer Auxier as Calhoun EMS’ medical director. Prior to that, an agreement with Dr. Margaret Staggers had expired, Dr. Jason Finchem had resigned and they were without the required Medical Director. It was then that Julie listed Dr. Jennifer Auxier who was unaware of her name being on Calhoun’s reports. This leaves the ethics of Calhoun’s billing in question with regard to Medicare, Medicaid and Inurances.
The other issue of importance to note that was not addressed in any Calhoun County Commission meeting was a $10,000 fine, (reduced to $2,000) levied against Calhoun EMS for failure to have Workers Compensation on Calhoun EMS.
Another possible area of concern for the Calhoun County Citizens for Accountability is the fact that there is a controlling interest of the same people and organizations governing boards in the County and controlling multiple agencies. A matter the organization intends to look into and make the community aware of who controls the purse strings, decisions and directions of county leadership.
The matter of Sheriff Warren Basnett and the Calhoun County Middle High School Career Day was discussed with the understanding that the Prosecuting Attorney, Nigel Jeffries will place the matter before the Calhoun County Commission on Tuesday, April 18th to determine action against the Sheriff and possible removal. The groups question was not if the Sheriff was responsible, but was he alone responsible. Where was school staff when this incident occurred and why was it allowed to happen at all. Guns are certainly apart of the world of a Sheriff, but far from his only responsibilities. Judge Whited brought up the fact that a Sheriff has two primary jobs, “Treasurer of the County” and “Court Security.”
More issues and more questions derived from this line of questioning, being that there is not one certified Deputy in the County. Why has there been no hiring, why are there so many questions surrounding who is qualified for what, who’s driving what and yet the Commission does not address the understaffed department. Why are we budgeting $250,000 for culture and parks when there are far more pressing matters in our County that need addressed such as infrastructure. One person noted that it was much like icing a cake before it’s baked. There’s nothing wrong with giving money to parks and recreation, but why are we not taking care of major issues that have stalled progress and adequate living in Calhoun County?
The group met from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and had more to discuss. There is great concerns for our children and community. There is an unaddressed lack of trust and parental fear of retaliation in public school that will be the next matter looked into by the Citizens of Calhoun County.
