Opinion ID: 793749
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Termination of the Relationship

Text: 14 For the year 2004, the approved Town budget provided that the Ambulance Corps was to be paid $221,000. On February 10, 2004, however, the Town locked the Ambulance Corps out of the Town Garage and sent the Corps a letter terminating the relationship between the Corps and the Town. The letter stated, in pertinent part, as follows: 15 The Town of New Windsor hereby notifies you of its determination to terminate immediately the services of the New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The safety and health of this municipality are jeopardized by certain aspects of NWVAC's inability or failure to perform requisite emergency services. 16 While the Town recognizes and appreciates the outstanding efforts of dedicated NWVAC individuals over the past years, the fact remains that the organization has failed to rise to the required level of service for the municipality in the current environment. 17 In that regard the Town has become aware of the NWVAC failure to meet Advanced Life Support certification and Vehicle and Traffic licensing requirements; failure to control use of emergency vehicles; and failure to field a crew or crews at all times. 18 Therefore, the Town is taking immediate possession of the Town facility used by NWVAC, as well as all Town vehicles and equipment operated by NWVAC. 19 I request that you coordinate with Police Lieutenant Richard Hovey ... to arrange to retrieve personal items and organizational items that do not belong to the Town or the Town's Ambulance District. 20 (Letter from George J. Meyers to Captain Cynthia Combest dated February 10, 2004) (Town Termination Letter). In addition, the Town refused to make any payments to the Corps for the calendar year 2004. 21 The Ambulance Corps, through its attorney, promptly complained to the Town of the seizure and withholding of the vehicles to which the Corps had title, along with other equipment and materials. ( See Letter from Helen G. Ullrich to George J. Meyers dated February 12, 2004.) In response, the Town, through its attorney, took the position that  [n]o contract for services existed between the Town and New Windsor Volunteer Ambulance Corps (Letter from Philip A. Crotty to Helen G. Ullrich dated February 17, 2004 (Second Town Letter), at 1 (emphasis added)), and that the seized property, including vehicles, equipment, radios, cell phones, and pagers, belonged to the Town because the Corps operated on tax revenues from the Town's ambulance district and because such equipment was purchased pursuant to line item authorization in the Town budget ( id. ).