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08/16/2024 04:46 PMFollowing accusations of longstanding financial mismanagement by the Westbrook Ambulance Association (WAA), the town of Westbrook has appropriated $233,714 to pay for an outstanding mortgage on the WAA headquarters as well as for a forensic audit of the service. A town meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 22, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall to approve the moves.
On July 29, KeyBank National Association filed suit in Middlesex Superior Court against the WAA and the Town of Westbrook over the association’s failure to pay a note and mortgage. While the ambulance association is not a town entity, the headquarters at 1316 Boston Post Road is owned by the Town and leased to the WAA. In 2008, the WAA applied for a mortgage with KeyBank, with the Town as an additional guarantor.
The Board of Selectmen (BOS) and the Board of Finance (BOF) held a joint meeting on Aug. 7, the bulk of which took place in an executive session. After a nearly two-hour closed door conversation, the selectmen declared the situation at WAA an emergency and authorized an appropriation in an amount not to exceed $163,000.00 for the purpose of paying an outstanding note and mortgage held by KeyBank.
The BOS also voted for an appropriation in an amount not to exceed $70,000 for the purpose of funding a forensic audit of the WAA.
The BOF then unanimously voted to approve the spending of $233,714, with $80,714 coming from contingency and $153,000 coming from the fund balance. The Town will need approval at the town meeting to proceed.
The Issue
First Selectman John Hall and BOF Chairman Paul Winch both declined to comment on this story and instead directed questions to Tim Herbst, the attorney for the Town. Herbst explained to the Harbor News that an appraiser contacted the Town in July to inquire as to what could be done with the headquarters property if the bank reclaimed it. Hall then contacted the appraiser to find out what issues were associated with the property.
“Shortly thereafter, the Town was served with the foreclosure action. The mortgage was in default for more than a year and at no time did [WAA Chief Gregg Prevost] make the First Selectman or any other Town official aware of this fact.” Herbst said.
Furthermore, Herbst said that an internal review by him and other Westbrook officials showed that the WAA had not filed taxes with the Internal Revenue Service for several years and the association also appeared to have lost its 501(c)3 status.
Prevost has since resigned from his position with WAA. He told the Harbor News in a 2018 profile that he had been involved in public safety careers since 1988.
Herbst said that based upon the actions of Prevost, he sent notice to the remaining WAA members that the agreement between the Town and WAA was terminated.
“The lease is terminated effective immediately. The Town has no choice but to move forward and make sure there are no adverse effects to the people and make sure when residents call 911 there is someone there. The Town is going to figure out the best path forward,” Herbst said.
According to Herbst, the audit would be conducted by the firm Sansiveri, Kimball & Co., LLP.
“We will leave no stone unturned and get to the bottom of what happened. Residents should know that,” Herbst said.
Concern about WAA’s finances goes back over a decade with the Town first having requested its financial information from the WAA in 2010. Herbst said that the association had been reluctant to provide the information. At one point, Herbst said, Prevost even hired his own lawyers to fight the requests from the Town.
“It appears that for the better part of 10 years Mr. Prevost has been playing a game of hide the ball with the town,” Herbst said.
Herbst reiterated that the WAA would continue to respond to calls in the case of an emergency.
“The gentlemen at the WAA who are left picking up the pieces are working very hard to make this right and are very dedicated,” Herbst said while highlighting Westbrook's strong mutual aid agreements with the surrounding towns.
Besides the two appropriations related to the WAA there are four other items residents can approve on the agenda for the town meeting on the 22nd. A full agenda is available on the Westbrook town website.