Wil Gay withdraws name from Rural Health Care Board election
by Pinedale Online!
May 31, 2010
Local media received this e-mail message from Wil Gay on Monday afternoon (May 31, 2010). Gay currently serves as Director of Sublette County Emergency Medical Services.
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Effective Tuesday morning June 1st, 2010, I will remove my name from the ballot for the RHCD Board. However, I feel an explanation is in order.
1. According to the Secretary of States office, there is no state provision that would bar an employee of a special district from sitting as a board member. I was referred to the County.
2. There is no County provision barring an employee of a special district from sitting as a board member. We were referred to the by-laws of the SCRHCD Board.
3. There is nothing in the by-laws of the SCRHCD Board that states an employee or family member of an employee cannot sit on the board.
So, with no laws preventing it, I signed up. I believe that the RHCD board should be made up of medical professionals, just like the Fire board is made up of firefighters. However, through the RHCD lawyer and the County Clerks office, there are two reasons for my decision.
1. If the election is challenged in court, whatever decisions the Board makes in the time frame of the challenge, would be nullified. This could be a year and a half worth of decisions.
2. If it is challenged, the county has the right to withhold funding until a decision is rendered by the courts. I don't believe the District can function without a year and a half worth of funding.
I do not want to be responsible for the District not having adequate funding. My recommendation to the Board would be to pass a resolution at its next meeting in June and state that no employee or family member of an employee can sit on the Board of Trustee's. This would solve the mess we just got in with all the people signing up.
I have 11 years worth of knowledge and experience with RHCD politics. Patient care should be the main focus of the board, especially in these tough financial times. I would have made sure that with the budget constraints we are facing, that patient care would be the last thing effected by budget shortfall. Furthermore, the Board should be relying on all the medical providers for opinions when a decision needs to be made, that way they are an informed board and not going off of one medical providers opinion.
Respectfully,
Wil Gay, Director
Sublette County EMS
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