SHERBURNE – For several months the Village of Sherburne has been discussing a system of revenue recovery for its ambulance service, and while no decision has been made on which way to move forward, it appears that future ambulance service is most likely going to come with a bill.
In 2002, the fire department created a task force to look at the possibility of charging for service. At the time, membership was dwindling, and the emergency squad, which was a separate part of the department, was suffering. According to Fire Chief Pat Lawrence, the department later decided to combine the fire and emergency squads, a move he said has worked well. “It seemed to make us stronger,” the fire chief said.
Now, seven years later, the department is again having some difficulties. With the increased number of calls the department has responded to since Superior Ambulance pulled its service from the area in 2007, the members of the EMS squad are over worked and starting to get burned out.
“They’re getting tired,” Lawrence said. “These people have families and jobs. They need help.”
Lawrence and EMS Chief Jay Symonds explained they would like to begin a system of revenue recovery, and down the road, they are hoping the system will generate enough revenue to hire help during the daytime hours when the department is most needed.
There are several possible options for the department to switch to a revenue recovery system. “A volunteer department cannot charge for services. There has to be some type of separation,” Lawrence said. The fire department is interested in pursuing a municipal-based system. “It would create a split on paper, but the day-to-day operations would be unchanged,” Lawrence said.
Symonds explained that the department has been exploring these options for more than six years. “This isn’t something we’re running into. We’ve identified the problems with each system, and we think the municipal-based is the best choice.”
Village Mayor William Acee agrees that a revenue recovery system would help the department, but said he believes creating an EMS department that was a separate not-for-profit agency would be the best way to proceed.
In the surrounding areas, both options have been put into place. Norwich and New Berlin have municipal-based services. SOMAC in Hamilton was created as a not-for-profit.
Symonds said he prefers the municipal system because it forces the village and the EMS squads to work together. “There are checks and balances to the municipal system. You have to work with each other. It creates a safety net,” Symonds said. The EMS chief said with the not-for-profit system, there is nothing in place to prevent the village or the EMS squad from stopping service at any time.
“This system is fail safe. If it doesn’t work in the end, we can go back to what we have now. If it does work, we can help our neighbors on the northern end of Chenango County.”
In addition, Symonds and Lawrence pointed out that the governing board currently in place at the fire department could be used for the municipal system. “If we went with the not-for-profit system, we would have to recreate the board. Now it’s all done,” Symonds said. He also pointed out that currently all of the EMS department’s equipment belongs to the village, as well as the fire house they use. “If we create a separate department, all of that equipment would have to be sold to the EMS Squad.” Those issues don’t apply with the municipal system.
Acee said he expects the Village Board to make a decision regarding the matter soon. “In the daytime the help has been hard to come by, and we have to decide where to go down the road,” he said.
Acee explained that the board is still gathering information and forming opinions, but in 2003 when the matter was first discussed, it seemed the not-for-profit system was the most cost effective.
“It would allow them to control the whole service, obtaining funds and donations. The cost of benefits would be lower. There wouldn’t be any union problems, and the future hires wouldn’t have to fall under civil service,” Acee said. “The municipal-based is a more expensive way to go. With the not-for-profit, the department controls their own destiny.”
While Acee recognized some of the issues the department identified with the not-for-profit system, he said the village would help the department to get started and work around those issues. He acknowledged that all the village EMS equipment would have to be transferred, but said “the transfer of assets could be made feasible.”
At the next meeting of the Village Board, at 7 p.m. Jan. 20, CMT will be on hand to discuss a third option – contracting with an independent ambulance provider. “We want to run the numbers for all of the options and take the information to the public. We are working as fast as we can.” Acee said a determination on the matter will be made in weeks, not months. “It’s time to put this to rest,” Acee said.
Symonds said the need for a decision is critical. “We don’t want Sherburne service to be shut down. In the past years, we’ve lost ambulances in Smyrna and Bainbridge. Losing more is not the answer.”
In New Berlin, Lawrence said, it took approximately a year and a half to generate the funds needed to hire daytime help, and Symonds added, New Berlin has a lower call volume than Sherburne. “There is nothing we get out of the municipal system other than help. We’re only doing this for the community. To provide service to them 24/7.”
Lawrence said the system will take approximately three months to get off the ground once the village board makes a decision. “In the future, you are going to get a bill for EMS service. The only question is where you want that bill to come from and where you want your money to go,” Symonds said.