PENDER COUNTY — After a contentious meeting Pender County leaders moved forward with an initiative to take over a private emergency services contractor amid a recent contract dispute and financial transparency concerns.
READ MORE: Pender chair argues county EMS and fire services merger would increase transparency
Pender EMS and Fire Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that has contracted with the county for over a decade to provide emergency services and fire protection. Several commissioners, including chair Randy Burton, have advocated merging the private entity into the county in recent meetings to improve transparency, employee benefits, and coordination with other local volunteer departments.
Commissioner Brent Springer advanced the proposed merger with a resolution at Monday’s commissioner meeting. He directed the county manager to prepare a plan for the county to assume control of the nonprofit and all of its assets to present to the board by June. The county would then assume responsibility for Pender EMS and fire services by December.
The resolution also placed three commissioners — Springer, chair Randy Burton, and Jerry Groves — as interim board members of Pender EMS.
The item was not included in the agenda. Springer raised a motion to suspend the rules of procedure to include the resolution, which passed 3-1 with Commissioner Brad George dissenting.
George said he supported a merger but raised concerns including its rapid pace, motives behind the effort, the legality of replacing Pender EMS’ board, and potential future involvement from Novant Health.
“This is not something that you can do overnight,” George said. “The push now is for Novant to take over EMS. Nobody likes Novant as a hospital. Who the heck do you think is going to like it in the citizenship when they find out Novant’s going to be the one that shows up at the door for EMS service?”
PCD reached out to George to ask about the resolution and clarification regarding his comments on Novant but did not receive a response by press.
The commissioner announced he would step down from his position on Pender EMS’ board of directors ahead of the resolution. George emphasized he did not resign from his position because he thought he had done anything wrong; the commissioner faced a conflict of interest complaint last year related to his wife’s position as Pender EMS’ chief financial officer. The District Attorney’s office dismissed the complaint last year.
“I [did] it to relieve the stress on me, my family, and Pender EMS and Fire and give one of the other three the opportunity to serve,” George said. “Because there is nothing that they’re hiding there.”
George also raised concerns about the original resolution’s removal of all of Pender EMS’ board members. County attorney Trey Thurman said commissioners could only legally replace their own board appointments; commissioners amended the resolution to address the concern.
“I wanted to get it out in front in case we make some budget adjustments for the third party company that we use,” Springer told Port City Daily. “I think it’s imperative for taxpayers to have transparency and accountability at a paramount level.”
Pender EMS and Fire received $20.27 million from the county in fiscal year 2024. According to its most recent annual tax filing for the previous year, Pender EMS and Fire’s net income was $1.9 million in fiscal year 2023; it spent $18.3 million but brought in $20.2 million in revenue.
The nonprofit took in $16.5 million from county taxes in fiscal year 2023, up from $12.5 million the previous year. Management salaries increased 21% over the year from $792,353 in 2022 to $960,786 in 2023.
Springer and Burton emphasized the county would not make staff cuts. They described improving employee benefits through integration into the state health plan as a top priority.
“I want it to be done smoothly,” Springer said. “I don’t want any animosity between any parties. It’s a business decision that has to be made.”
The commissioner referenced an ongoing contract dispute between Pender EMS and Fire and Union Rescue Squad in Monday’s resolution. Springer said the groups met Monday night to move forward on contract negotiations.
The volunteer department’s contracted services cover night-time emergency response in the Union district including Willard, Watha, Penderlea, and Maple Hill. But Pender EMS made non-negotiable changes to its annual contract renewal with Union in September that would require it to respond to 60% of calls in its district rather than only night calls.
Union warned it did not have capacity to meet the new conditions and retained legal counsel amid a breakdown of communications with Pender EMS. Union refused to sign the new contract and Fire Chief Everette Baysden issued a notice of termination to shut down the contracted service on Jan. 22. The parties have since agreed to pause the dispute to allow further negotiations.
Burton told PCD the county faced difficulty obtaining information it sought from Pender EMS including property, assets, positions, and pay ranges.
“Its not a personal vendetta,” Springer said at the meeting. “Commissioner George, I’m just trying to tell you the county manager met with resistance because [Pender EMS and Fire] don’t want to turn over their financials. It’s not a big deal. We’ll take it over and then we’ll get everything we need.”
Fire chief Everett Baysden spoke out from the audience after Springer’s statement before Burton interjected to quiet him.
“Chief Baysden, you’re a citizen like everyone else,” the chair said. “We’re going to have decorum in this boardroom”
Baysden sent out a press release Monday evening stating Pender EMS officials have met with the county manager bi-weekly since merger talks began. He raised concerns about the disclosure of sensitive employee information and sought legal counsel before moving forward.
The fire chief said Pender EMS carries out a full third-party audit every year. He added the nonprofit seeks to ensure the merger is carried out in a structured manner to ensure services are not disrupted and employee jobs are safeguarded.
George asked who wrote the resolution during the meeting; Springer responded that he was the author. George rejected the claim and said it was actually written by Phil Cordeiro, treasurer of the Pender County Republican Party and a former school board member.
Cordeiro filed campaign finance and self-dealing complaints against George last year. Cordeiro pointed to George’s position on Pender EMS and Fire’s board of directors as a potential conflict of interest because George’s wife, Audrea, is chief financial officer of the private nonprofit. Pender EMS and Fire’s board determines employee compensation during its annual budget process.
“This is theatrics,” George said. “And this is drawn up by a bunch of guys sitting up on Southshore Drive last week at their little meeting that’s running this county right now that dreamed this up.”
George referred to a meeting of Pender County Republicans at Cordeiro’s house last week, including Springer and Burton. Pender Post Editor Andy Pettigrew published a Tuesday op-ed likening recent developments in the Pender County Republican Party to a coup.
“Phil Cordeiro is now the head of the party,” Pettigrew wrote. “No, he is not the chairman, but make no mistake — he is pulling all the strings.”
Cordeiro and Springer reiterated to Port City Daily the commissioner was the primary author of the resolution. Cordeiro added he developed a close working relationship with Springer during their time on the school board together.
“He reached out to me for feedback on how to address the variety of challenges associated with Pender EMS and Fire,” he said. “I was honored to share my feedback on his plans and will continue to do so whenever he sees fit to ask for my opinion. In my view, seeking advice from constituents is how good public policy is made and I wished it happened more.”
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