South Windsor Town Manager: Ambulance Bill 'Totally Gutted'

The state Public Health Committee “totally gutted” a bill that would have permitted towns to choose who provides their ambulance services, according to South Windsor Town Manager Matthew Galligan.

In his weekly report to the council, Galligan did not hide his disappointment with the recent development with the legislation, which passed the committee, but did not resemble what was initially proposed.

Needless to say, many towns and districts are very upset with the lack of response from the [committee] Chairs who single handedly devastated that bill,” Galligan wrote.

The bill was referred to the Moore Mandate Commission, according to Galligan, who said that he contacted some representatives on that commission to see if some, if not all, of the language taken out could be reinserted.

Farmington town officials said that the reason the bill was essentially killed was because the ambulance lobby was too strong. Farmington and South Windsor are among the towns that backed the original measure.
Galligan, for his part, has not given up on the matter.

“We will attempt to move this forward, as we all feel that Emergency Medical Services problems need to be fixed,” Galligan said.