Budget committee members agreed to place the Linwood/Lincoln/Woodstock ambulance budget on the agenda for a joint meeting next week at the Lincoln office, saying more detail is needed about wages, call volumes and proposed cost sharing.

The committee asked staff to provide a clearer wage breakdown and per-town allocation before the joint session. "I finally got the meeting and we're used to it," said Speaker 5, adding that John did a good job on the packet but "he left under the 2024 budgeted for wages. He left those blank, and it may be helpful for him to put numbers in there because it's probably going to be asked by other individuals." Speaker 5 asked staff to show how prior payments made as stipends or volunteer reimbursements should appear in the wage lines so the transition from volunteer to paid staff is explicit.

Committee members said a joint meeting at Lincoln next week will allow both towns to review the combined budget and the requested breakdown. "This whole budget is going in front of both of us," Speaker 5 said. The committee discussed whether the split should be 50/50 and noted that a breakout showing Lincoln and Woodstock shares is included in the back of the packet; Speaker 5 said, "if you look in the back, it needs to be 50/50." Speaker 4 said the question of the split will be discussed at the joint meeting.

Members also discussed call volumes. Speaker 1 referred to numbers posted online and said, "I saw on Facebook today that Lincoln has 69% of the calls for last year, and Woodstock had 28." Committee members encouraged staff to calculate the per-taxpayer impact so the towns can compare cost per $1,000 of property valuation.

The group discussed contingency planning if town meetings do not approve the requested appropriation. One member noted, "we have a $197,000 to bring in an ambulance service," and committee members said the ambulance provider also must prepare a contingency plan if voters reject an article.

The committee directed staff to supply: (1) a wage-detail breakdown distinguishing stipends, part-time and full-time wage history; (2) updated call-volume statistics and per-taxpayer calculations; and (3) the presentation materials John has prepared for the joint meeting. Members said they want those materials ahead of the joint session so they can review before the meeting.

The committee did not take a formal vote on any changes to the ambulance budget at this meeting; they scheduled the joint meeting so the towns can discuss and decide formally.