Residents of Medford, Massachusetts, sounded off about an emergency management change at a city council meeting Tuesday.
The city announced plans to switch from Armstrong Ambulance Service, which has served the community for 25 years, to Cataldo Ambulance Service.
“Switching to Cataldo was the best option for Medford,” Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn told NBC10 Boston.
City councilors and union members criticized the move at Tuesday’s meeting.
“Changing and making a drastic change like this right now, just that turnaround alone could leave us in jeopardy with safety,” said Medford City Councilor George Scarpelli.
The city’s contract with Armstrong expired in November. Lungo-Koehn says Medford was unable to reach an agreement with the company about several issues, including reimbursement for money spent on dispatch, transporting injured first responders without charging the city and upgrades for the dispatch center.
“We had complete concerns with the fact that they weren’t going to be abiding by the contract, and the contract was going to actually disadvantage Medford and our taxpayers,” the mayor said.
EMS workers from Armstrong Ambulance Service lined the wall as city councilors considered an emergency resolution, opening the floor for Medford residents to share their frustrations.
“We are confident in our ability to meet or exceed the expectations put upon us,” Cataldo said in a statement.
“I have full confidence in the decision that I ultimately made with my negotiating team, which was the two chiefs and our dispatch supervisor and our legal team,” Lungo-Koehn said.
The new contract with Cataldo takes effect on Jan. 16 and will last three years. The city council will further discuss the decision at a meeting next Tuesday.
Jericho Tran
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