Eric, an ambulance service representative, told the Capital Improvement Advisory Committee on June 7 that Milford Emergency Medical Services operates three ambulances at the paramedic level and responds to roughly 2,202 calls a year, “averaging about 6 a day.”

He described the department’s vehicle-rotation policy and a five‑year replacement plan in which each ambulance stays in the fleet about 15 years and the town replaces one vehicle every five years. Eric said the department plans to request funding to replace a 2028-scheduled ambulance; his estimate for the vehicle and durable equipment is “roughly $250,000.”

The key change this year is financing: the town in 2025 created a voter-approved revolving fund that channels about $140,000 a year of ambulance transport revenue into a reserve for ambulance replacement. “We will have at least 3 years’ worth of funding available for that purchase,” Eric said, describing options for the remainder of the purchase cost: a one‑time raise and appropriate, or a lease-purchase agreement.

Crystal Bond, a town finance official, explained how the new revolving fund changed budget treatment. She told the committee that before 2025 the same ambulance revenue appeared as offsetting general-fund revenue; the revolving fund redirects that revenue expressly to ambulance capital. “In the past, that $140,000 did go into revenue, which was offsetting revenue. So that is a change that affected the taxpayers,” she said, describing how the fund reduces the direct tax burden for ambulance replacement but also means the town must identify other revenue to replace what had been general offsetting revenue.

Committee members asked practical questions about timing. Eric said vehicle lead times are long—he cited a recent order placed in April 2023 that arrived about two years later—and urged early planning: “I dare say that we’re probably looking at at least 18 months” to get a chassis and equipment. Committee members also asked whether buying a chassis or prepaying could produce discounts; Eric confirmed vendors sometimes offer prebuy discounts but said those decisions are for the Board of Selectmen to authorize.

Committee members asked whether the revolving fund affects the town operating budget; Eric and Crystal clarified the fund is separate and funded from ambulance transport revenue, not from tax receipts. Eric and Crystal said the capital reserve dedicated to the currently scheduled replacement will be largely depleted by the present replacement, and the new revolving fund is intended to smooth financing going forward.

The committee took no formal vote on the ambulance request at the session; the presentation closed after discussion and staff follow-up questions.

Ending: The ambulance presentation left the committee with a clear ask to plan for a 2028 replacement with partial funding from the 2025 voter‑approved revolving fund and remaining financing to be decided later; town finance staff and the ambulance service will return with refined cost estimates and timing to inform budgeting and possible warrant language.