Former Ventnor, NJ Mayor Criticizes Current Administration

Former long-time Ventnor City Mayor Tim Kreischer does not go out of his way to criticized the current Ventnor City Commission.

When he does so, it’s important listen to what he has to say. Kreischer always does his “homework” before he speaks.

Kreischer served for 16 consecutive years on the Ventnor City Commission from 1992-2008 … the last  12 of those years as Mayor.

Kreischer took to his public Facebook social media page to address the following issue regarding ambulance services in Ventnor City.

Here’s what Kreischer wrote:

I want to make residents in Ventnor aware of a situation regarding ambulance service. If you use the ambulance the city will bill your insurance carrier for you using the ambulance. They will bill you, the resident, for any uninsured amount or if you do not have insurance. The city will send you two bills and if you do not pay after the 2nd notice, they will write the amount off. They do not send this to any collection agency, and it does not impact your credit rating, said Kreischer.

Kreischer went on to overview several different scenarios:

“One is an issue of fairness. The diligent person, probably a senior citizen who is from the old school, when you get a bill you pay it. Another person who ignores their bills throws it in the trash can and hopes it goes away. This creates a situation where the diligent person pays while some others do not,” said Kreischer.

Kreischer wrote about the unfairness of this.

Further, Kreischer sees a public safety aspect to this, as a resident may hesitate to call for ambulance services if they can’t afford to pay the bill … so, they may hesitate, or, not go to the hospital when a health crisis arrives.

Kreischer also share a reasonable assumption that some may choose to drive themselves to the hospital and then have a heightened medical emergency while in route and could crash and create additional problems for the community.

Before going public with his remarks, former mayor, Kreischer addressed the city commission and public session.

In describing this encounter, Kreischer wrote:

I brought this to the attention of our city fathers at a recent commission meeting. The mayor said, "there are a lot of hypotheticals there." True, but I think all are distinct possibilities and except for the driving on to the sidewalk, how do we know they have not occurred. The mayor and commissioners did say they would look at this. I hope they do not ignore my suggestion as they always do and correct this situation by not sending residents bills for uninsured amounts, said Kreischer.

Remember, any and everything can be called hypothetical… Until it happens.

Ventnor City is a great community … I lived there for about half of my life. Here are a few photos that portray Ventnor in a positive light:

SOURCE: Former Ventnor City Mayor Tim Kreischer.