Tinley Park receives huge bill from previous EMS provider (more)

Excerpts from the ChicagoTribune.com:

Tinley Park is facing a legal battle over $492,000 that its former ambulance provider, Trace Ambulance, claims the village owes them. The dispute has been ongoing since 2014, when Tinley Park ended its long-term contract with Trace and switched to Kurtz Ambulance, based in New Lenox.

According to officials, Trace had billed the village for $492,000, but Tinley has consistently denied any obligation to pay. The case is now heading to Will County court, where a judge will determine who is right. A status hearing is scheduled for January 5.

Christopher Vandenberg, president of Trace Ambulance, said the company made several attempts to negotiate with Tinley but was repeatedly told no money was owed. “Because the Village refused to acknowledge any debt, we had no choice but to take legal action,” he stated in an email.

Tinley’s Village Manager, Dave Niemeyer, confirmed the village is fighting the claim but declined to provide further details. In court documents, the village denies both owing money and that Trace fulfilled all contractual obligations.

The lawsuit seeks a court ruling that Tinley must pay Trace under their contract. While the exact amount isn’t specified, the $492,000 figure comes from a final bill issued by Trace last year, which Tinley refused to settle, according to Niemeyer.

Vandenberg, whose relative Jake Vandenberg serves as a village board trustee, expressed hope for a peaceful resolution, saying he wants to avoid lengthy legal costs. Jake Vandenberg clarified in an email that he has no financial interest in the company and hasn’t participated in any discussions about the case.

The conflict began after Tinley awarded a new $3.7 million ambulance contract to Kurtz in 2014. At the time, Trace and Kurtz were the only bidders. Trace argued that its expired contract included a clause requiring the village to pay $200 per hour for extra ambulance services beyond what was stipulated. After being replaced, Trace calculated those hours from May 2010 and sent a final invoice of $492,206.

Tinley received the bill just weeks after Kurtz took over. In response, the village’s treasurer, Brad Bettenhausen, said the charge came as a surprise. “We had not been previously advised of such charges,” he wrote. He also noted that if such fees existed, they should have been billed regularly, at least annually, during the contract period—something that didn’t happen.

The village rejected the bill and questioned its accuracy, citing a lack of evidence that additional services were requested. The decision to switch vendors was controversial, with tensions rising during a public safety meeting in May 2014. There, officials revealed that Kurtz’s bid was significantly lower than Trace’s. Trace warned that changing providers could be risky, given the evolving healthcare landscape.

Ultimately, Tinley officials said they chose Kurtz because it offered a 21% lower price. Trace had served as the village’s ambulance provider since 1979, with only a brief interruption in the 1990s.

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