Federal, state taxes paid -- lien against VCAD lifted

Nevada Daily Mail

During a regularly scheduled board meeting Thursday evening, Vernon County Ambulance District Interim Director Leland Splitter announced that both federal and state taxes have been paid in full.

VCAD had owed the Internal Revenue Service a total of $345,001.63 and the Missouri Department of Revenue $52,915.14. VCAD's real estate has been mortgaged with Heritage State Bank in the amount of $450,000 to pay the debt owed to the IRS, Department of Revenue, and other creditors.

According the minutes of a special meeting held Jan. 26, the debts were as follows: Federal tax (IRS): $324,321.69 (this amount went up); state tax: $52,915.14; security benefits: $46,105.44; Stryker cot: $15,202; Com Data credit card: $6104.22; Sutherland's: $5000.00. The total owed was $449,648.57. The loan from Heritage State Bank was used to pays these debts.

In regards to repayment of the debt owed to the IRS, the Ambulance District had three options. Option one, the IRS would shut down VCAD and take possession of VCAD's property. Option two; the debt owed could be spread into 12, equal monthly payments. Option three, and VCAD's chosen method of repayment, was a single lump sum payment for the entire amount owed.

Additional checks and balances have now been put in place to help prevent a similar incident in the future. Accounts receivable, or the bills owed to VCAD for services rendered, have been outsourced to K&P Specialized Billing. Accounts payable, or the bills that VCAD owes, will be put out for bid this month. Bids for accounts payable services are due to be returned before the next board meeting.

Board vice-chair Chris Mason said that a letter has been sent to the IRS detailing the events that lead to VCAD being more than a quarter million dollars in tax debt. VCAD has asked that the IRS, given the circumstances, waive the penalties that have been assessed and return that money to VCAD. Any money that is returned by the IRS will be allocated to the principle of the mortgage with Heritage State Bank.

Board chairperson Mark Humphrey said that the "tax issue is behind us."

The board voted 3-2 by secret ballot in favor of Coeta Smith over Bill Gillette to replace Nancy Jeffries on the board. Jeffries resigned due to moving out of her district.

A $150,000 tax anticipation loan from Heritage has been paid in full.

Payments are starting to be returned from K&P Specialized Billing. K&P is averaging an 85 percent to 90 percent collection rate on bills sent to patients. Most patient costs are being covered by some form of insurance -- Medicare, Medicaid, or commercial insurance. Only 7.5 percent of patients billed are self-pay. According to Denise Hopkins, K&P's itemized billing is recovering an average of $3,500 to $4,500 per patient. This is a significant increase over VCAD's previous billing model and results in a net increase in accounts receivable despite K&P's 8 percent commission.

Splitter said the he wants to be more aggressive in preventative maintenance on the ambulances. Medic 1, the primary response unit, had to be taken to Freightliner in Joplin for new brakes, brake rotors, and a DOT inspection.

Medic 3 is currently out of service. A noise developed in the rear differential and inspection indicated the possibility of a broken gear tooth inside the differential.

Both Medic 3 and 4 have had all four, rear tires replaced.

Medic 5 experienced a problem with the air-ride system on the rear axle. The system lowers the rear of the vehicle when the rear doors are opened to allow easy loading and unloading of the patient. This problem has been fixed and Medic 5 is in service.

Three surplus, manually operated patient cots have been sold for $1,000. These older manually lifted cots have been replaced in all five ambulances by powered cots. Powered cots have a high initial cost at around $15,000, but according to Splitter, the powered cots reduce back injuries. Splitter also said that any new ambulance purchased by VCAD would be required to have a power lift to place the cot in the back of the ambulance. Like the seatbelt requirement for passenger cars, powered cot lifts are a requirement for new ambulances.

The board discussed what to do with a storage unit rented from Bob Barnes. The unit contains a kiln, molds, and porcelain dolls that were a donation to the district. The board previously did not know about this storage unit and according to Splitter, VCAD is not interested in the contents.

The Ambulance District has lost only one vendor due to the tax issues. Com Data, which provided a credit card to the district, was over due and the bill had been sent to a collections agency. $6,500 has been paid to clear the account. Humphreys said it was the only credit card the district had and in order to keep it, VCAD would have to pay Com Data $950, reapply, and even then Com Data may not approve a new credit card.

Patient Account Manager Denise Hopkins must attend a HIPPAA patient privacy class this summer in order for VCAD to remain compliant with HIPPAA regulations. The class cost is $1,950 and does not cover travel or lodging.

An ordinance concerning public participation in VCAD board meetings was discussed and passed with only one change. Humphreys asked the "chairman" be changed to read "chairperson." This is ordinance No. 2182016-1 and is titled Rules and Procedures For Public Citizen Participation at Vernon County Ambulance District Meetings.

The ordinance with the change reads as follows, "In order to assure fair consideration of each item and of other people who may wish to be heard, the following general rules will be followed: 1. Citizens, who wish to speak to the Board of Directors during the public participation agenda item, are asked to register with the District's Secretary. Citizens may register by calling the District Secretary prior to the meeting or they may fill out a 'speaker's card' at the meeting and hand it to the District Secretary. 2. The Board of Directors' Board Chairperson will indicate the time when citizens in attendance are free to speak. Citizens should not interrupt the Board of Directors proceedings until the Board Chairperson invites audience comments. 3. Residents of the County of Vernon will be recognized to speak by the Board Chairperson. When a citizen's name is called, he/she should stand up; state his/her name and address for the record; and give the appropriate comments. 4. Citizens are asked to limit their remarks to two (2) minutes. Additional time may be granted with unanimous consent of the Board of Directors. 5. If members of the audience have questions, they should address such to the Board Chairman and not to the individual members of the Board of Directors or the Administration."

Rescue 1, a Dodge truck used to pull VCAD's rescue boat and Search and Rescue trailer only has one more payment in May before being paid off.

Dan Dilly, a concerned guest at the meeting, asked if every purchase made by VCAD has to be put out for bid. Humphreys said no, every day items involved in normal operations do not have to be put out for bid.

Dilly wants charges filed and said that people want answers. Humphreys said that the Highway Patrol is currently investigating, the board does not know the status of that investigation, and that "we want answers too" but it is "out of our hands." Humphreys said the board would not be informed of the results of the investigation before anyone else was.