Departure by CEO of EMSA is best for ambulance service

THE CEO of the Emergency Medical Services Authority, provider of ambulance service for Oklahoma City and Tulsa, has decided it’s time to retire from the job he’s held for nearly four decades. It’s certainly the right move for him, but also for EMSA.

Stephen Williamson, who has run the organization since its formation in 1978, leaves amid a cloud of controversy that, had he decided to stick around, would only have dragged EMSA further into the fray. As it is, the public trust has work ahead to keep the keep the public’s trust.

Williamson’s announcement during a special meeting Tuesday came nine months after the federal government accused him and EMSA in a civil fraud case in Texas alleging EMSA accepted more than $20 million in kickbacks from a former contractor.

In that civil complaint, the government alleges Williamson accepted expensive gifts from the contractor, charged the contractor for spa visits and parties for EMSA employees, and had the contractor make political donations to preferred candidates.

EMSA and Williamson have said they did nothing wrong, but such serious allegations give residents — who pay a monthly charge on their utility bill to defray the cost of potential use of EMSA’s services — good reason to wonder what in the world is going on.

Williamson had built something of a fiefdom at EMSA, with an annual salary of $266,000 and total compensation exceeding $325,000 per year.

A state audit in 2013 found that Williamson had been reimbursed more than $400,000 over one three-year stretch ending in June 2012, and more than half of the expenses had no board oversight. Among the purchases, many of which weren’t supported by invoices, were a $699 room service bill, a $415 spa bill, a $4,300 anniversary party and $40,000 in rent paid for an Oklahoma City apartment.

The board has approved several policy changes since that time, but Williamson maintained his position and enjoyed the support of most of the board members — they approved a raise just months after the audit was released.

One former EMSA board member has been highly critical of Williamson and EMSA for several years. Oklahoma City Councilman Ed Shadid called for a leadership change after the audit four years ago, and in January of this year, after the government filed its civil fraud complaint, said Williamson had to go and that EMSA should be dissolved.

Shadid says there are others at EMSA who also need to be removed, but that Williamson’s exit could lead to a settlement of the government’s case. He called the CEO’s departure “a welcome first step in restoring EMSA’s integrity.”

EMSA has done a good job serving central and northeastern Oklahoma. Citizen surveys consistently show Oklahoma City residents are satisfied with the ambulance service provided. Yet that could change if residents lose faith in management. With Williamson out, EMSA’s leaders must work to ensure that the public’s faith is well placed.