The city of Auburn moved one step closer Tuesday to controlling its ambulance service despite concerns raised by its former provider.

Following a public hearing at City Hall, the Central New York EMS Regional Council's Review and Comment Committee agreed that the city has met the needed criteria in its application for its ambulance operating certificate.

The decision came after representatives from Rural Metro Medical Services handed committee members and city officials a five-page statement from Division General Manager Michael Addario, who could not attend the hearing, contesting information that was included in the city's application.

In the statement, Addario argued against numerous points made in the application concerning the quality of Rural Metro's service.

“I feel the statements made in the ... application packet are not all factual and some of them cross the line to the point of being libelous,” Addario said in the written statement.

The application incorrectly states that Rural Metro dismantled its backup system, according to Addario. It identifies about 20 of the 4,000 calls in the county handled by Rural Metro that required mutual aid, he stated. That does not meet the application's definition of need, Addario stated in the letter.

The application questions Rural Metro's willingness to communicate with the county 911 center and ability to provide proper staffing and vehicles, both of which Addario claimed are inaccurate. Addario goes as far as to state that the city's decision to seek another ambulance service has had a negative effect on the local EMS system by making it more fragmented.

“I would argue that the system created by the Auburn City Ambulance (led) to this situation, as this number of mutual aid calls did not exist prior to the implementation of Auburn City Ambulance,” Addario stated.

The city began to seek control over ambulance service about five years ago when officials noticed what they considered a decline in service from Rural Metro, who provided the city's ambulance service at the time. In 2006, TLC Emergency Medical Services took over service in the city, operating under a two-year contract that will be up in April.

The city submitted an application last month for permanent certification, and Tuesday's public hearing was a mandated part of the application process. The application will now be reviewed by the regional EMS council, who will announce its approval or denial in March at its next monthly meeting. If approved, the application is sent to the state health department for final confirmation.

If the city receives its permanent certificate, TLC will continue to operate the service, Auburn Fire Chief Mike Hammon said. However, Rural Metro still offers its services in Cayuga County and even serves members of its Spirit service within the city, he said.

Hammon said that, as part of the application process, the city had to demonstrate a need for control over its ambulance service. Rural Metro's response to this demonstration is likely a way for the company to show that it is “willing and ready” to be part of the discussion, not an attempt to block an approval, Hammon said.

Lon Fricano, operations director from TLC, said that the city had legitimate grounds for seeking out a new ambulance service.

“The situation was falling apart,” said Fricano, who was the area manager for Rural Metro in 2006. “It was a public health issue, and the city took action. They want to make sure the people of Auburn get an ambulance when they are in trouble.”

Hammon said that he doesn't expect any major road blocks between now and its certification, which will give the city the leverage it needs to make sure residents will receive quality ambulance service.

“We don't ever want to be in the position where we have sub-standard service and not have the authority to fix it,” Hammon said.

Staff writer Christopher Caskey can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or christopher.caskey@lee.net.