17 Granger EMS employees resign after chief fired by City Council
Nearly three-quarters of the City of Granger's EMS staff resigned following the firing of the program's chief, Jessica Juhl. The decision, made during a city council meeting Monday night, has sparked controversy and raised concerns about the future of emergency medical services in the community.
Juhl, who served as the EMS chief, was dismissed after what the city described as her refusal to align with the yearly budget and restructuring plan. However, Juhl disputes this reasoning, claiming the city prioritized financial concerns over public safety.
"I feel like the reasoning were made up, anything they could grasp at to terminate me because I didn't agree with the direction they wanted the department to go," Juhl said.
The fallout was immediate, with 17 EMS employees resigning in protest during the same city council meeting. Juhl attributed the conflict to disagreements over budget cuts and restructuring plans, which she argued were not sustainable given the community's growth.
"That is just not feasible with the growth of the community," she said.
Granger Mayor Tony James offered a different perspective, stating that Juhl's behavior changed after a March meeting where it was announced that the EMS budget would be reduced by $35,000 from the year prior and the department would be restructured under the fire department. According to James, Juhl stopped logging her work hours and ceased communication with city staff following the announcement.
The city highlighted its investments in EMS services, including $350,000 for a new ambulance and a $3 million bond initiative to construct a new public safety building. Despite these efforts, Juhl maintained that the restructuring plan, which placed EMS under the fire department, was not the right approach, even though it is a common practice in other municipalities.
"It is expensive to run an EMS department, I do agree with that," Juhl acknowledged, "but we were expanding our part-time hours, we were recruiting multiple paramedics to offer the highest level of care to this community to these citizens. And they're worried about the bottom dollar," she said.
The resignations leave the city in a precarious position. James says they will have to recruit more employees to the EMS staff and, in the meantime, rely on their mutual aid partners to help service their community.
禄
禄 Download the free 糖心vlog app to get updates on the go: |