Greene County officials propose phased funding and coordinator hire as alternative to immediate EMS consolidation

Greene County officials proposed a phased alternative to immediate, full consolidation of emergency medical services on Thursday, offering annual budget support to towns, centralized procurement and training, and a county-paid coordinator to shepherd the changes.

The county’s proposal, presented by Sean (role not specified), would give towns an annual payment to offset ambulance operating costs and the county would centrally pursue joint purchasing, standardized equipment and training, and long-term wage parity. Sean said the county could not absorb an estimated $12 million to $15 million one-time increase to run a consolidated system in a single year and described the plan as “a step forward” to relieve town budgets while the county studies next steps.

The proposal would give each town a direct payment; Sean used a $100,000-a-year example as an illustration and said Greene County would also continue to cover the county’s current contribution to the region’s fly-car program (described in the meeting as roughly the $400,000–$450,000 range annually). Using the $100,000 example for 13 towns (the speaker excluded one town from the example), Sean calculated a county cost in the low millions and said…