From the Northwest Indiana Times:
"Residents soon may see a privatized ambulance service responding to their medical emergencies as the city looks to deflate a bloated budget.
Mayor Anthony Copeland on Friday issued an executive order reducing staff and recommending outsourcing the Emergency Medical Services Department.
Copeland said in coming weeks the Board of Works will be reviewing proposals from outside EMS professionals, first to determine what is in the city's best interest. Outsourcing EMS could reduce a $3.7 million annual deficit by as much as $1.2 million, the mayor said.
"We are asking the (City Council) first to abolish the department. Only the council has that ability," Copeland said. "If the council doesn't do that, then we can zero-out the budget, doing it that way."
Copeland said council members are to meet Monday to discuss and possibly vote on the plan.
Copeland said one of the biggest issues bogging down the budget is that the city's payroll is too large to sustain. He said the city and the East Chicago Sanitary District employ 650 full-time workers, near the number of municipal employees in Hammond, though its neighboring city has more than twice its population.
Copeland said 14 full-time and two part-time employees were terminated Friday, during what he's calling the first phase of a continuing effort to make the city more solvent.
The mayor said additional layoffs are on the horizon.
Copeland said tax collections in the city are down to about 70 percent and when combined with losses from the property tax cap legislation, the city is dealing with a $15 million annual loss of revenue compared to just a few years ago."
Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/east-chicago/e-c-looking-to-outsource-ems-department/article_63c7989e-8137-5bf5-824a-3e6c0901c3fc.html#ixzz1q8aTb34c
