Port Jefferson EMS leadership in turmoil after vote to oust directors

The Port Jefferson EMS is embroiled in a controversy over who runs the emergency services agency after some members moved to oust the board of directors and appoint a new board.

EMS members voted 4-1 on July 10 to remove six directors, including president Dean Marshall, treasurer Cynthia Harris and secretary Jason Spiller, alleging they had not volunteered enough hours as ambulance workers to qualify for the posts, according to a lawyer representing the EMS members and a state lawsuit filed by the former board members.

At the same meeting, members named three new board members — Karen Sullivan, David Chambers and Agnieszka Ulinski — and reinstated director Lisa Jaeger, who had been removed from the board earlier this year.

The outgoing board members last Thursday asked State Supreme Court Justice Christopher Modelewski to reinstate them, saying rank-and-file members do not have authority to fire and replace board members. In court papers, former board members said the vote to remove them was illegal and was "jeopardizing the safety of the community."

Marshall and Spiller did not return calls seeking comment. Harris declined to comment.

Former board members said in court papers they did not attend the meeting. They said they learned of the July 10 vote to oust them from Port Jefferson Village trustee Kyle Hill, an EMS volunteer.

Hill forwarded a request for comment to his attorney, Ken Auerbach. Auerbach also represents the new board members and other EMS volunteers named in the lawsuit.

Auerbach said in a telephone interview Hill's EMS service is not related to his work as a village trustee.

He said his clients believe the ousted directors' EMS memberships had lapsed because they had not accrued enough hours as ambulance volunteers.

“They’re upset that the organization that they volunteered with to provide community service has just decided to ignore any kind of requirements of due process and the bylaws,” Auerbach said.

The dispute follows the suspension with pay last month of Chief Robert Stoessel amid a pending misconduct investigation, court papers show. Auerbach said the vote to remove board members was not related to Stoessel's suspension.

Port Jefferson EMS, also known as Tri-Harbor Ambulance District, gained attention in 2022 when no residents cast ballots in a referendum on changes to the district's employee retirement system.

A second vote was held in 2023: Residents voted, 45-4, to approve the changes.  

The district, is headquartered in Mount Sinai. It serves about 30,000 people in Port Jefferson, Mount Sinai and Belle Terre. It also provides advanced medical services in the Miller Place Fire District and other neighboring districts.

The EMS has more than 100 volunteers and about 18 paid employees.

According to court papers, fewer than 10 volunteers qualify as ambulance company members. Most volunteers are local high school and college students who do not qualify as voting members, EMS officials have previously said.

In court papers, former board members said the July 10 votes to remove them and name new board members were illegal because the meeting was not properly advertised to the public.

“Defendants’ illegal scheme has caused severe and irreparable disruptions to the day-to-day operations of [Port Jefferson EMS], jeopardizing the safety of the community,” they said in those papers.

Court papers also state that Stoessel was suspended on July 1 while the then-board investigated a complaint that he had responded too slowly to a medical emergency.

Attempts to reach Stoessel were unsuccessful.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.