Show me the money - oh wait, nevermind

Last time, Curmudgeon told you there is more to say about the March 6 meeting of the Copperas Cove city council.

Well, Curmudgeon is baffled, if not 100% clairvoyant.

The other night at the Copperas Cove city council meeting, Deputy Fire Chief Gary Young brought a proposed agreement for approval. This agreement is with a company that could help the Copperas Cove Fire Department get reimbursed for its lost revenue in self-pay and Medicaid billed EMS calls.

As the old saying goes, "You don't know what you don't know."

Curmudgeon didn't know and probably 99 percent of the city and 100 percent of the council didn't know the following:

Did you know, that in 2017, the city lost $521,910.20 in unpaid bills for EMS services provided by the fire department? It hasn't been able to collect $2,040 from Medicaid and $388,252.18 from self-pay patients.

Did you know that in 2016, the city lost $439,546.89 in uncollected EMS service bills? It ended up being unable to collect $2,690 from Medicaid and $333,444.40 from self-pay patients. EMS Medical services aren't free, nor is ambulance transport. Huh.

That's a lot of money. It's all right there in the meeting agenda.

But DC Young found a possible solution. There's a company that will work to HELP the city get some of that money back and be reimbursed through a program through the state Department of Human Services. 

DC Young even had a company representative with him from the company, called Change Healthcare Technology Enabled Services, LLC. The man, a Mr. Coyle, was present and available to answer questions. There is even a 21-page presentation that was part of the agenda. Mr. Coyle said the company could recover as much as $130,000 in the first year for the city. For the second year, it could be even higher. DC Young said there is an upfront setup cost of $5,500 for the city's account. Change Healthcare would also get a cut of 14% whatever they are able to get reimbursed/recovered for the city. The reimbursement money the city gets would go into the General Fund.

OF COURSE, since you make these decisions, dear city council, you could easily say you want the Fire Department to get that money. 

Nice. But let's talk about it some more.

Dear city council, Mr. Manning in particular, didn't you just hear a presentation from the city fire chief about the costs and need for personnel? Remember, at your retreat? That was a big discussion.

Couldn't the city, the department use $100,000 more per year?

It's not the department's job to collect unpaid fees. You can't count what you don't have in your pocket, but IF the city could receive at least $100,000 of that money BACK, wouldn't you want that to happen? 

Dear readers, why am I asking this question?

Because Mr. Manning roadblocked the agenda item and asked to postpone it because he "wanted more information." 

What information did Mr. Manning want?

Nobody seems to know.

Never mind that DC Young brought a company rep with him.

Never mind that there was a 21-page presentation available to Mr. Manning and all the other councilmen. 

Never mind that there was a 15-page proposed agreement attached to the agenda, also available to Mr. Manning and all the other councilmen. 

Never mind that this was PRIME TIME to talk about the proposal and if they don't want it, then vote it down. Or, ask to modify the terms. Talk about it publicly. This is the TIME.

Did he wonder what other cities use this service and also how much money was recovered for them? 

Did he even give the company rep a chance to answer questions?

Of course, this is the same councilman who asked during a workshop if it was the time to "discuss" things during a presentation by a city staff member? Um. You're the council. It's PRIME TIME to talk. Even if it's only to give directions. 

Or...

Did Mr. Manning not have a chance to read the information in the agenda?

Did he not realize that being part of the council means he will have to keep up with agendas and reading them, and studying them? 

Does he not realize he could have brought questions with him ahead of time?

This is not a time when you show up to a meeting, not knowing what is on the agenda.
Did time escape him?
Is he too busy for city council?

Being a city council member doesn't mean showing up for meetings and helping your pet projects and favorite citizens.

Again, more hedginess from Mr. Manning. Other council members must want more information too, or maybe they are following lock-step with him. Maybe they were too busy to study up also. Nobody was given a chance to discuss exactly "what" he wanted to know. 

Or maybe, other councilmen in the GOBC (Good Old Boys Club) put Mr. Manning up to make this decision and they were ready to go right along with him. Because they ALREADY KNEW. 

I sincerely hope these councilmen are not having discussions among themselves about agenda items, like the civic center fees. Remember, dear city council, you can't have group discussions like this outside of meetings. They are called PUBLIC meetings for a reason.

The last time there were walking quorums in Copperas Cove, we lost most of the council because of a recall. But, keep it up. Walking quorums are not easy to prove, but it is not impossible.

Again, the council's overarching concern Tuesday evening was the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Manning seemed to do more homework on the Copperas Cove Civic Center fees, his pet agenda item, than he did a key operational agenda item that could have helped the city with revenue in the six figures. 

Huh? I'm still shaking my head over this one. 

Mr. Coyle, I'm embarrassed you traveled all the way to Copperas Cove from wherever you were, just so you could sit in a meeting and have a councilman say, "I want to postpone this until we get more information." What a waste of your time. I apologize.

Copperas Cove is better than this, but for whatever reason the city council's brains are a-fogging.