Two more key employees recently have left Gouldsboro’s ambulance and fire department, extending a period of instability that has beset the department over the past few years.
Town officials say that with the voluntary departure last month of Ken Monroe from the chief’s position, they are focused on finding a new administrator who will fix problems with the town’s ambulance service, Schoodic EMS.
Monroe, who was a paramedic with Schoodic EMS ambulance service, rose to the department’s chief position after Tatum McLean, the former chief, resigned in May 2022. McLean went on to be the fire chief in neighboring Winter Harbor but was fired after he was criminally charged with submitting fraudulent reimbursement claims when he was head of Schoodic EMS.
Another former employee, Kenneth McCartney, later was implicated in the same fraudulent billing scheme. McCartney, who was operations manager for Schoodic EMS, resigned in April 2022 and is facing a felony theft charge.
Unrelated to those allegations, the town’s sole full-time emergency medical technician was fired last month, according to a termination letter obtained by the Bangor Daily News through a Freedom of Access Act request. Tonya Garnett was fired April 17 for “failure to perform essential job duties to the detriment of the town and its citizens,” according to the letter.
Monroe resigned around the same time Garnett was fired, and he thanked town officials for giving him the opportunity to oversee Gouldsboro’s fire and EMS services.
“With true sincerity I wish nothing but the best for both departments,” he said in his resignation letter, which also was obtained by the BDN through a FOAA request. “Hopefully the town chooses wisely for whomever they choose to fill those positions.”
Monroe, who now works for Pleasant River Ambulance Service in Columbia Falls, said he left in part because he was offered better money at his new job. He also said that the April 9 death of longtime Gouldsboro selectman Dana Rice Sr., has added to the upheaval in town.
“Gouldsboro is full of politics,” Monroe said.
Gary Greenlaw, the assistant chief under Monroe, now is acting chief, overseeing both the town’s fire response and ambulance services, according to Josh McIntyre, Gouldsboro’s town manager, who said the town has other certified EMTs and ambulance drivers on its on-call roster who can respond to medical emergencies.
“We don’t have any gaps in the ambulance schedule,” he said.
Without commenting on any specific current or former employee, McIntyre said the town wants to hire the right person to oversee and manage Schoodic EMS. The town has advertised the job and is looking for someone who can properly handle the increasingly complex finances of medical insurance coverage and government reimbursement programs, he said.
“They need to be comfortable and capable with managing the department’s paperwork, and have an attention to detail,” McIntyre said.
When a new EMS director is hired, it will be up to that person to fill the EMT position left vacant by Garnett’s termination, he said.
Gouldsboro has seen high turnover in other administrative positions in its recent past, but has made an effort to stabilize them by hiring people with proven prior experience.
In 2021 the town hired Patrick McNulty, a veteran police officer from Rhode Island, to head up its small police department after it had three different chiefs in the prior five years. McNulty has since moved back to Rhode Island for family reasons. Following his departure, the department has been overseen by James Malloy, who previously worked full-time for the department and now also serves as a sergeant with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
McIntyre, a former finance director for the city of Ellsworth, was hired last year as town manager. He replaced Yvonne Wilkinson, who served as town manager from 2007-2015 and later held the post again on and off for several years as other town managers came and went.
