WOODLAND, Maine — Concerned residents packed into Woodland Consolidated School gym for a public hearing Tuesday in which Caribou City Manager Dennis Marker and Caribou Fire and Ambulance Chief Scott Susi explained the reasons behind a last-minute fee increase in emergency services offered to the town.
In late December, the city of Caribou sent out letters to towns served by its ambulance department explaining that the rate would go up from $11.50 to $100 per capita. Towns were given until Jan. 31 — roughly one month — to make their decisions.
Caribou has since extended its deadline to March 31.
Towns affected are Connor, Woodland, New Sweden, Madawaska Lake, Westmanland, Perham, Stockholm, Wade, Washburn and Caswell.
While most of these towns already receive fire coverage, New Sweden, Connor and Woodland also would need to receive fire service from Caribou. The combined cost for fire and ambulance services will be $125 per capita.
Costs for Caribou to run its fire and ambulance department factored heavily in the city’s decision to increase fees. Marker explained that the fire department costs roughly $500,000 annually, and that the ambulance costs about $2.2 million annually, adding up to a total of approximately $2.7 million.
City officials also cited shrinking revenues as a factor. Marker that while Caribou receives 100 percent of what is billed to patients who have private insurance, it gets 80 percent from patients who use federal insurance, 40 percent from those with state insurance, and essentially nothing from uninsured patients.
Additionally, the department needs to deal with roughly a quarter million dollars worth of renovations including upkeep and updating of ambulance vehicles as well as replacing the department’s roof.
“We have found that providing a fire and ambulance service to the region is not sustainable with the reimbursement system we have and for the fees we’ve been charging outside communities,” Marker said in Caribou’s letter to surrounding towns.
Last year, Woodland’s fire contract cost $64,301 and its EMS contract was $13,950, roughly $78,000 annually combined. Under the new proposal, the town would need to pay $128,875 for both services.
The Woodland Consolidated School gym was packed during a Jan. 14 meeting in which Caribou officials discussed a significant rate increase for fire and ambulance services. (Chris Bouchard | Aroostook Republican)
During the meeting, Washburn Town Manager Donna Turner explained why Washburn and Wade decided to go exclusively with Presque Isle as its ambulance provider as opposed to having Caribou and Presque Isle each cover half of both towns.
She said that while the division made sense in the past, especially considering Caribou was just five minutes away from the town line, Washburn and Wade could not afford to pay Caribou $100 per capita for one half of the town while Presque Isle charges $11.50 for the other half.
“I asked [Presque Isle City Council] if they were sure it was enough money, and the answer was ‘Yes, absolutely,’” Turner said. “It’s not about the money, it’s about the service, and the service is wonderful.”
She said Presque Isle agreed to cover all of Washburn and Wade for $11.50 per capita through a three-year contract. After the two-year point, town officials will be given a one-year notice regarding any potential reconsiderations or price increases.
Woodland selectmen Tom Drew and William Barnum both criticized Caribou’s decision.
Drew thanked both Susi and Marker for attending the meeting, acknowledging that they’re in a tough position and that they’ve “chosen the short straw” in being tasked with representing the city council.
He said that while he understands all of the budgetary figures presented by Caribou, he does not understand why “the line item about human compassion and decency got zeroed out in Caribou’s budget.”
“You might have all of these statistics for one particular entity, but the budget as a whole is a reflection of some sort of negligence, and I have a feeling that we’re being asked to contribute a little bit more to other shortfalls in Caribou,” said Drew. “I know I can’t prove that and it won’t change the world if I do.”
“[Something] so sacred and important to every individual should never be used as a political pawn between towns,” he said.
Barnum, upon hearing about the extended deadline, said that this will give Woodland “time to actually contemplate which bad decision we can make.” He then brought up the number of businesses in Caribou and how this should factor into the city’s rates to outside communities.
“There are 700 businesses in Caribou and they do pay taxes,” he said. “It’s a big chunk of money, especially considering that some towns you serve don’t even have 700 tax bills come into their town office.”
Barnum also brought up that the department makes more money for mileage when responding to distant calls.
“It seems to me if I have to wait 20 minutes for the ambulance while I’m bleeding from my femoral artery,” he said. “Shouldn’t I pay a little bit less when you’re going to make more money transporting my corpse to the morgue?”
Another Woodland resident asked about Caribou City Council’s decision to discuss this matter in executive session, and asked Marker if all of the information related to the council’s decision was available to the public.
The city manager said that all of the budgets and figures they discussed are publicly available.The resident also asked if the discussion and thoughts of councilors concerning this matter are on the record.
“The executive sessions took place to discuss contracts that were being considered,” Marker said.
“So this was dealt with in executive session under the guise that you needed negotiating power over us,” she asked.
“Yes,” Marker said.
Drew, in his final comment, said he was disgusted by how Caribou chooses to charge the fire and ambulance department $300,000 for water and hydrant fees, which he said has lowered morale.
“Caribou Fire Department employees are some of the greatest people I know, and it’s just offensive to me to have this affect their morale the way it has been,” he said. “Caribou has the ability on paper to make their heroes shine, but they choose not to.”
Marker said that Caribou’s City Council does recognize and respect the staff.
“We have one of the best chiefs in the state,” said Marker, adding that both Caribou City Council and the state of Maine have formally recognized Susi for his Fire Chief of the Year accolade.
“As a selectboard, you’re trying to make the best decisions for your population,” Marker said. “Wade and Washburn are trying to do the same thing by looking at what is impacting their population. And the Caribou City Council is doing the same thing. We have almost 8,000 people in Caribou and there are expenses that have to be met. We’re striving to ensure there is long-term sustainability with our service and that the costs are covered.”
The meeting ended on a positive note, with one woman asking that if Susi and Marker take anything from this meeting back to Caribou Council, it’s that “we don’t want to be pitted against one another.”
“We need this service,” she said. “We can’t go without it. In the end I hope you can remind the council that this should be respectable and we should communicate, not send emails and letters back and forth, but this is really about people and relationships.”
The comment elicited an eruption of applause from the audience and, before the meeting adjourned, another resident added that Woodland’s Highway Department has done an excellent job maintaining the roads throughout the winter.
