Dear Colleagues,

As you are aware, the Governor recently released his 2012 Budget proposal. When Governor Cuomo took office, he pledged to reduce the size of government by reducing the size and number of Councils and Commissions. Immediately after taking office, by Executive Order, he created the Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission. The charge of the Commission was to "... make State government more accountable and efficient by reducing the number of agencies, authorities and commissions by 20%."   The SAGE Commission looked at every aspect of state government. The Governor's Budget proposal reflects the work that the Commission has done. Like all areas of State government, this commission has had a tremendous impact on EMS. There will be significant changes that will occur WHEN the Governor's budget is approved. Allow me to be quite candid. While EMS is extremely important to us, as it should be, the EMS portion of the total budget is very small when compared to Medicaid Reform, Education, Transportation, etc. Also, as we have been told by many people with experience and knowledge in this area, the Governor's budget will be approved. Because the changes are included in the Budget proposal, and because of the legislative process, the probability of making any significant changes in the Budget proposal is remote.

NYSVARA is a member of the NYS EMS Coalition. The other members are New York State Association of Fire Chiefs (NYSAFC), the United New York Ambulance Network (UNYAN) and the Firemen's Association of the State of New York (FASNY). This group, with the exception of FDNY EMS, represents all of the state's EMS responder organizations and was formed to address issues affecting the EMS community with one voice. Since the Governor released his budget proposal with the proposed PHL Article 30 changes, the Coalition has been spending many, many hours analyzing it and discussing its impact. Attached is the statement that was developed by the Coalition. The statement represents the views of the members of the Coalition. It was presented to the New York State Emergency Medical Council at its recent meeting, read into the record and received unanimous support from its members.

Where do we go from here? We have spent a great deal of time listening to all the stakeholders. I, and our partners in the Coalition, have a very clear understanding of the concerns that have been raised. There are many questions that remain unanswered. We have compiled a list of all of these concerns and questions. In the next few days we will be working to express our views to our legislative leaders. We are also hoping to be able to speak to the Governor's representative. Then once the budget is approved, we will be working very hard to ensure that our views are included in the implementation process.

I want to assure our members that I will continue to work hard to be sure that the volunteer EMS voice is heard throughout this process. I will keep everyone updated as we move forward. It is very important that we all speak with one voice and I thank you for your support.