Squad takes issue with new program, council
Boro entered five-year deal for Web-based program
BY MICHAEL ACKER Staff Writer

SAYREVILLE — First-aid volunteers are voicing opposition to a new automated system that was installed in order to improve response times for the town's first-responders.

Councilman David Kaiserman issued a statement in which he was critical of fellow governing body members for not working with the first aid organization to rectify the issue regarding the emergency response program. He noted that the Sayreville Emergency Squad has provided volunteer emergency services since 1936.

"As a former lieutenant of the squad, I know the issue is not just [about the recently purchased program], but years of systematic oppression and targeted meetings that didn't respect the views and recommendations from the EMS, and therefore I would have hoped that the squad could have been afforded the opportunity to openly discuss the issues and formally ask for help from the entire council, rather than being brushed aside," Kaiserman said.

Kaiserman was referring to a council meeting held on June 8, when Capt. Katherine Jurkiewicz, president of the Sayreville Emergency Squad, spoke along with other members of the squad. Jurkiewicz expressed gratitude to the governing body for their support, but raised concerns about not being told when the council would vote to enter into a five-year contract with Emergency Services Marketing Corp. Inc.

"We should have been told officially that this has taken place," Jurkiewicz said.

Councilwoman Kathy Makowski noted that the police department recommended this company's program. She expressed surprise that the Sayreville Emergency Squad learned of the five-year contract only after the council agreed to it.

"I apologize if you weren't aware of it," Makowski said. "Myself and the rest of the council were under the impression that you were aware of this."

Jurkiewicz said that communication between the emergency squad and borough officials needs to be improved. Decisions that could impact the squad's operation should be relayed before it is too late for members to provide input.

The Web-based program, called the Emergency Responder Reply System, was originally estimated to come with an annual fee of about $2,000, assuming a high call volume. That figure has risen to roughly $4,300 per year, Borough Business Administrator Jeffry Bertrand said, since it was decided that the system should be installed in the borough's four firehouses and two firstaid buildings.

The $4,300 estimate also includes the 2.8 cents-per-call charge, Bertrand said. He said the administration does not project that there would be more than a few hundred dollars worth of calls.

"Through the trial period, we were able to monitor how many times it was being used," Bertrand said. "… The fire department liked it, because when they would go to a house, they knew if a driver was coming or not. That, they liked the most."

The borough's emergency service agencies use their cellular, work or home phones to speed-dial a toll-free number and log into the system without talking on the phone while driving. It also allows them to access pertinent information on emergencies within seconds of the dispatch.

A website allows administrators, dispatchers and first responders to know when and where the incident is taking place and whether a full crew is responding. Each first responder has a profile within the system, which recognizes the caller's identification so that users can report whether they can make it to the scene in case of traffic delays or a flat tire.

As part of the contract, Emergency Services Marketing Corp. Inc.'s technical support team is available at all times and in-person support could be arranged at no additional cost. It has 16 servers on the East Coast in case back-up servers are needed in the event of a power outage.

John J. Szurlej, a volunteer with the Sayreville Emergency Squad, expressed an interest in having the administration explore other options, such as radios, which he said would be more cost effective. However, he said the squad's suggestions were not respected.

"There are different dispatching items on the market with respect to [the program]," Szurlej said. "… We feel that the borough wants to use the system to push volunteerism out."

Mayor Kennedy O'Brien said that any contentions that the governing body wants to use a private service instead of the volunteer squad are false.

"In my 13 years sitting here, there has never been a discussion about stopping volunteers," O'Brien said.

Bertrand said that Police Chief Edward Szkodny would not allow radio chatter across the line, so the Web-based program was favored over the radios. The police chief is, by state statute, in charge of and responsible for the dispatch of emergency services in the borough.

O'Brien suggested that Szurlej develop a rapport with Szkodny.

"He is the ultimate authority," O'Brien said. "The buck stops at his desk. … I happen to have a lot of faith and confidence in our chief of police."

O'Brien said misinformation was spreading about this issue, and expressed frustration with the way this matter was being raised with borough officials, in part because details of emergency protocols were being discussed in public.

"This is absolutely not the forum," O'Brien said. "I'm very disappointed in this."

Szurlej said it was not his intention to be adversarial. However, he said he is concerned about not having a written policy to refer to on dispatch protocol.

O'Brien said he is a supporter of all of the borough's first responders. He asked that the Sayreville Emergency Squad try to use the program.

"I've never run across anything that is perfect, but you make it work as best you can," O'Brien said.

Capt. James Russo of the Sayreville Emergency Squad said that progress has not been made on this matter at public safety meetings, which he said have lasted several hours because of the squad's concerns with the system.

"We did not leave with a sense of closure," Russo said.

O'Brien said that manually recording the information that this new system automatically collects is unacceptable in light of the technology that is available, in part because the former method was prone to error.

"This is a system to make people better at what they do," O'Brien said.

O'Brien acknowledged that the Sayreville Emergency Squad opposes the program and the fact that it has the greatest volume of calls of the various emergency service agencies in town. He also noted that four fire companies and the Morgan First Aid Squad are in favor of it. He asked that the Sayreville Emergency Squad take a fresh look at it and recognize that officials do not want to get rid of the volunteer system, in part because they do not want to use taxpayer money for a service it can get for free.

"I like all of you personally and collectively, but I am cheap and I'm not going to hire somebody when I can get qualified people to do it for free," O'Brien said. "… I'm not going to spend millions of dollars a year to have a paid service replace you."