new Chapel EMS provides 911 ambulance service to both Clark and Floyd counties the companies run by Jamie Knoll the former Sheriff of Clark County and he's also the head of the Clark County Republican party and the Ninth District GOP in Southern Indiana winning news troubleshooter Mark Stevens says his family has donated thousands to politicians with oversight of new Chapel's contracts taxpayers pay new Chapel hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide excuse me hundreds and up to thousands of
dollars to provide Ambulance Service and Fire Protection new Chapel also bills for ambulance runs earning Millions more the contracts are valuable raising questions our elected leaders voting on them being influenced by campaign donations from the contractors attention Greenville First Responders new Chapel EMS these are practicing assistance reference overdose when the call goes out for an ambulance in Clark and Floyd County's a private company responds new Chapel EMS they've contracted with bo
th counties for several years now our investigation Wednesday night found new Chapel's response times in Floyd County are not meeting the County's expectations we're not getting the quality of service that we're supposed to be getting we're paying for two and a half ambulances but we're not for sure where they're stationed and where they're coming from but critics say the company keeps getting contracts because The Man Behind new Chapel Chief and CEO Jamie Knoll has the political influence to wi
n them absolutely I think it's a complex Floyd County council president Denise conkle says his dual role as a County contractor and leader in Republican politics gives him an unfair Advantage I think they should refuse themselves from voting for a vendor who they've received a donation from I don't think they should vote null is the former Sheriff our County and currently leads the Republican party at both the county and District levels our investigation of County campaign Finance records found
Noel or his family members donated hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars over the years to Republican politicians with oversight of the ambulance contracts in both counties Knoll denies using campaign contributions as leverage most of the stuff when it comes to politics obviously you know I'm a republican right I'm involved in Republican leadership I support Republican candidates and it's it's just that simple last fall Floyd County leaders unhappy with new Chapel's performance decided to
get bids from different ambulance companies the troubleshooters found some of the loudest voices opposing change received campaign donations from Noel or his family that is not how you do business with your vendors and then with these major projects coming you guys you too have just sent a message that we don't care the rate we're getting from for our car provider is most assuredly going to go up because you know they've saved us money for a long time Floyd County council member Danny short unsu
ccessful candidate Charlie Moon and former council member Adam Roberts all received campaign contributions from the Knowles both Roberts and short also voted against refurbishing two ambulances for the Lafayette and Greenville fire departments in March last year council members raised concerns about having enough money for new Chapel's contract I know that there's negotiation contracts still with new Chapel that we're waiting for I mean the cost to refurbish these are pretty expensive Roberts di
d not return my phone calls he lost his primary to Jim Freiburger who campaigned on improving Ambulance Service following his win Freiburger says the former Floyd County Sheriff asked to arrange a private meeting with him he said I'd like to bring a friend I go well who is that and he says Jamie no and at that point I'd already been familiar and I just said well I haven't heard positive things for Jamie no I just really prefer not to meet with him Floyd County's ethics code bars elected official
s from accepting gifts over fifty dollars from Consultants however it does not restrict campaign contributions I don't have a problem with them making the decision so long as it's clear to me that I can see all the relevant information University of Southern Indiana Professor Nick Laro says he's not bothered by County leaders taking campaign contributions from a contractor as long as they're reported but he says what is troubling is the appearance of what's known as pay to play That's when compa
nies seeking government contracts use political donations to get an edge if you're a war ordering a contract to somebody who's much more expensive than the other bidders or who doesn't have a good history of work history for their quality of work or they have other problems and you would wonder why that firm was picked and the other businesses weren't which brings us to Clark County in early April the county signed a three-year contract extension with new Chapel EMS it really took the pressure o
ff the negotiations moving forward and with inflation we were tickled to death with the price but the troubleshooters found the extension comes with two fewer ambulances and costs a quarter million dollars more than a competitor's bid sent in a year ago commission president Brian Glover says he was following a subcommittee recommendation to stick with new Chapel even with the higher price I believe we were just getting better coverage for a little bit more money our investigation found the Knowl
es donated to current Clark County Commissioner Connie Sellers and council member Steve Doherty Kevin vissig John Miller and former council member Brittany faree sellers voted for the original ambulance contract in October 2020. Doherty and missing voted to fund it later that month when the county extended the contract in April last year Doherty visiting Miller and faree approved the money to pay for a 262 thousand dollar raise how do you separate then what's good for you politically and what's
good for your company financially well it's never what's good for my company financially it's what's best for the community I said I don't I don't involve politics when it comes to Public Safety I I never have and never will Indiana only bans campaign contributions from contractors trying to work with the state lottery Clark County does no such thing only requiring Commissioners and council members to disclose contracts with direct relatives I was trying to get a hold of a former council member
Brittany faree our investigation also uncovered a lawsuit that was previously sealed between Knoll and former council member fare over the paternity of a child they had together Court filing showed the two settled the case after working out parenting time and child support the settlement of the case occurred in 2020 two years before for revoted to fund The increased new Chapel EMS contract price last year Fareed did not return my call Noel's attorney blocked my questions about the settlement dur
ing our interview but Noel said he doesn't talk to County council members I deal with the County Commissioners as far as contracts I don't deal direct with either Clark or Floyd County Council Clark County can amend its contract with new Chapel EMS at any time Floyd County's contract automatically renews at the end of the month a year averaging 20 hours a week of work a separate company helped create had its tax-exempt status revoked in 2010 after no one filed required tax returns for three year
s Mark Stevens wave news all right thank
Comments
I assumed lobbying was legal. The big leagues do it ALLLL THE TIME.