NEW BERLIN – Residents of New Berlin and Columbus swarmed their respective town halls Monday night to discuss the upcoming Jan. 24 vote to form separate ambulance districts.
The proposal on the referendum Jan. 24 would create two separate tax districts, one in each town, which would dictate a separate tax line specifically dedicated to financing emergency management and ambulance services.
In New Berlin, Supervisor Ross Iannello, along with Town Clerk Mary Brown and the town council, responded to questions from the nearly 40 people present. The Columbus meeting also drew a large crowd, more than 50 altogether, who attended in order to have their questions fielded by Supervisor Tom Grace, the town board and Jim Morris of the New York State Regional EMS office.
Confusion has arisen within the two towns as to the exact purpose of the formation of the tax districts. This is due, in part, to the recent formation of the Unadilla Valley Ambulance Corp., an ambulance service run by a not-for-profit company which would provide service to both New Berlin and Columbus.
The UVAC was formed by members of an advisory board originally created in order to determine a way to provide ambulance care to the above mentioned towns, as well as the village of New Berlin.
“I assure you that the two issues, the tax district and the ambulance service, are completely separate,” insisted Iannello. “The tax district deals with how the towns pay for the EMS service they receive ... it’s about putting a separate tax line into the budget that will show taxpayers exactly how much they are paying.”
However, numerous citizens spoke up during Monday’s meeting expressing doubts about the ultimate necessity of the tax district. They questioned the purpose of creating a separate line in the budget and whether that would increase their overall costs.
“From what I’ve researched, the creation of this district will ensure equal costs for members of the community across the board ... and it will also provide a level of oversight that hasn’t been there before,” said Columbus Council member Susan LaFever.
Columbus applied for a Certificate of Need in September which would give the town the right to contract with any ambulance service they choose. Both the town and village of New Berlin currently have a CON and through a previous contract with the village, Columbus has received aid to a portion of the town from the village’s ambulance service. The rest of the town has been covered in parts by either CMT or Sherburne.
Morris explained that the CON had passed its period of evaluation and was nearing the end of its 30-day appeal stage. He also said that the CON, once attained, could be used by the council to contract with any ambulance service they chose.
“My question is, then, what is the main difference between the CON and the district?” inquired town Justice Richard Fornito.
Morris explained that there was little difference when it came down to the ability to choose which ambulance service to contract with and how the board could make changes to the taxes.
Many homeowners expressed worry that taxes would be raised under a new tax district, despite the promise of uniformity and oversight.
Morris assured the crowd that the many of the same changes could be made with a CON as with the new tax district.
“Once the town gets the CON, you can determine many things yourselves with your town board,” said Morris. “The tax district does not have the CON, the town does.”
Currently, the village of New Berlin holds a municipal CON which gives their ambulance service the right to contract with surrounding towns but, according to Morris, not to expand their CON coverage.
Councilman Bruce Vermeulen maintained that the district and the UVAC were entirely separate issues, however, members of the crowd had their doubts, stating that the board had given no examples as to what could be done under the district that could not be done otherwise with the support of the board.
“Don’t try to make it mis-direct us,” stated Kim Felter-Canarelli, who ran for council in 2011.
Despite the heated discussion, which continued more than three hours, the meeting ended with a statement from Vermeulen as he addressed Columbus and New Berlin residents alike.
“This has been an ongoing process ... we’re really fortunate to have nearby firehouses and ambulance services and we’re trying to put out a system that would continue that,” he stated. “We have tried to do the best for you, not focusing on personal agendas.”