To the editor:
As a longtime taxpayer and retired city firefighter, I don’t understand our City Council not being more open and aggressive in perusing a City Ambulance Service in Presque Isle. These are just a few rambling thoughts that I have and I hope they make as much sense to you as they do to me. The city has asked the department heads to find a way to cut city expenses by $500,000. Twenty-plus years ago the city of Caribou merged ambulance services with the fire department. It seems to be working well and helps keep the fire department and personnel at adequate levels within a smaller budget.
I’ve seen one workshop with no public input. The fire department (Fire Chief and Finance Advisor Duane Walton) put forth a very good plan. So far all of what TAMC has to say has been behind closed doors with no public input.
We subsidize Crown Ambulance $101,386 a year plus a very healthy fee for their services. This is a profitable service and TAMC will try their best not to lose this subsidy; but if the city can do it cheaper and as well as Crown Ambulance, why not and save some money?
State protocol would oversee the quality of service and care of patients. Start-up cost is a little over $400,000, paid for in four years, using the Yearly Subsidy Payments. Revenues for services are coming from the start. Presque Isle Fire Department already has the medical personnel within the department at EMT and paramedic levels. Most of these personnel work part-time for Crown Ambulance.
Combining fire and ambulance has been a trend throughout the country for saving tax dollars. Presque Isle Fire Department’s Budget would be lowered 25 percent.
All I’m saying is, I hope much more information is put out to the public (for or against, that is OK). I just would like to see the public well informed and have some choices on whether to continue to pay subsidies or try to save some tax dollars with a City Ambulance Service.
Presque Isle
