Despite Probes, Westminster,Calif. City Stays With Ambulance Co.

Feb. 15--WESTMINSTER -- Some 10 months ago, the City Council voted to award a small company its ambulance service -- a contract that raised questions about public safety and favoritism. This week, the deal was finalized with new owners who have a pending complaint in Los Angeles.

The City Council on Wednesday night approved an agreement with Shoreline Ambulance LLC, which took over for Huntington Beach-based Shoreline Ambulance Corp., to continue with its three-year contract. The company responds to the city's 911 calls.

In Los Angeles, Shoreline LLC responds to non-emergency ambulance calls. And there, LLC was fined and suspended for six months in the last year after the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, the regulatory agency there, found multiple violations against the company. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County also is reviewing allegations of a violation against Shoreline LLC.

While a councilwoman expressed concerns about the complaints in Los Angeles, city staff did not recommend either keeping the company or searching for a new one.

The LLC's performance in Los Angeles is "problematic," according to a Westminster police report that said the two companies are practically identical in employees, equipment, policies and procedures.

But the company's performance in Los Angeles, where it does not respond to 911 calls, "is not a definitive indicator of their future emergency medical services performance in Westminster," according to a city staff report.

"LLC's EMS staff has performed competently since 1-1-13," the report says.

Councilwoman Diana Carey said she was bothered by the complaints in Los Angeles. "For me, that called in concerns about training and supervision of their personnel," she said.

Carey joined Mayor Tri Ta and Councilman Sergio Contreras in a 3-0 vote to accept the change-over in ownership. Councilwoman Margie Rice had left the meeting early and Councilman Andy Quach was out of town.

The city's ambulance service has been questioned since last spring, when police, fire and city officials recommended to the council that they choose another company that was less expensive, had more experience and was better-equipped.

The council chose Shoreline Corp. despite the fact that, at the time, it didn't have the communication equipment mandated by its $2.6 million contract.

This was Shoreline Corp.'s second contract with the city. The company had worked for years without the equipment called for in its contract. Last March, Samuel J. Stratton, Emergency Medical Services medical director for the Orange County Health Care Agency, wrote in an email: "This represents a threat to the health and welfare of the community." Shoreline Corp. was briefly suspended from working 911 calls in Orange County last spring.

Shoreline Corp. owner Giovanni Chiarella argued that the issue was politicized and said his company and employees did a good job for the city. By last summer, they bought three new ambulances with state-of-the-art equipment for Westminster.

Another issue that surfaced was that Chiarella required his employees to work for free, on their own time, at preselected nonprofits. After the policy became public, city staff expressed concern about its legality and urged Chiarella to discontinue the practice.

In response to the city's concerns, Chiarella changed his policy.

Shoreline Corp. and Shoreline LLC "have been so closely intermingled" -- including their personnel and equipment -- that Los Angeles transportation investigators found that the two are "effectively, the same entity." Chiarella is no longer the owner but the operations manager, according to a city staff report.

Shoreline LLC's equipment has been properly licensed by the Orange County Health Disaster Management Emergency Medical Services, the report says.

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