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New Canaan EMS highlights volunteer role, rising ambulance costs in FY26 budget briefing
Summary
New Canaan EMS leaders told the Town Council that the all-volunteer corps responded to more than 1,800 calls last year, asked the town to maintain existing operating support (including a $465,000 paramedic contract) and warned that ambulance replacement costs have jumped to roughly $390,000 each.
Alec Montgomery, president of New Canaan EMS, told the Town Council on March 27 that the volunteer emergency service handled more than 1,800 calls in 2024 and logged roughly 28,640 on-duty volunteer hours while providing 24/7 coverage.
Montgomery and John Knight, the corps’ treasurer, outlined the EMS operating request for fiscal year 2026. The presentation said New Canaan EMS is an all‑volunteer service with more than 50 members who ran an estimated 1,860 patient contacts in 2024. Major operating items discussed were the five‑year paramedic contract (a fixed annual fee of $465,000, in year three of that contract), modest increases for vehicle repairs and medical supplies (each shown as about a 3% increase) and the town’s allocation for regional dispatch/communications services.
The corps also described its capital plan for ambulances. Montgomery said ambulance delivery backlogs that began during the pandemic have persisted; the service typically replaces one of its three ambulances every three years (each vehicle assumed to have a roughly nine‑year useful life). Suppliers’ estimates cited to the council put the price of a fully equipped new ambulance at about $390,000. The corps said it has shifted replacement timing by roughly one year to account for delivery delays and to avoid retiring ambulances before replacements arrive.
Knight told the council that some ambulance costs are borne by vendors and custom build processes, and that final outfitting (radios, decals and small equipment) adds to the sticker price. Montgomery said New Canaan EMS continues outreach and training — including an annual EMT certification course the corps runs as a recruitment pipeline.
Montgomery and Knight answered questions about volunteer recruitment, training and where ambulances are built and fitted out. The corps said the module (the patient box) is built in North Carolina and final equipment installation is done closer to Connecticut to simplify future servicing.
The presentation closed with expressions of gratitude from council members and residents for the volunteer service’s largely unpaid response and community programs, and with the EMS leaders noting ongoing recruitment efforts.
