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Council adopts change to how city sets annual contribution to Havre de Grace Ambulance Corps after debate on response levels
Summary
After testimony from the ambulance corps and extended council discussion about declining transports, the council adopted Resolution 2025-11 to amend the method used to determine the city’s annual contribution to the Havre de Grace Ambulance Corps; the resolution directs annual funding decisions to the budget process rather than a fixed formula.
The Mayor and City Council of Havre de Grace on June 2 adopted Resolution 2025-11, which changes how the city determines annual contributions to the Havre de Grace Ambulance Corps, after the corps’ president warned the council that removing flat funding could jeopardize operations.
Nathan Armstrong, president of the Havre de Grace Ambulance Corps, said the organization only learned late of the proposed resolution and warned the council that eliminating flat funding would “jeopardize our ability to plan for sustainable operations” for fiscal year 2026 and beyond. Armstrong said recruitment and retention remain challenges for the volunteer corps and that in 2024 the corps was dispatched for 4,194 calls, with the city’s corps transporting about 55% of those calls; he provided calendar-year 2024 statistics showing 4,194 alerts and said the county units recorded 2,193 transports in 2024.
Council members debated whether the city should continue applying an older formula to compute contributions or instead determine an annual contribution as part of the mayor’s budget. Council President (Ringstalker) said the intent of the resolution was not to defund volunteers but to make payments depend on measurable results and on mutual partnership. “We want to work with you,” the council president said, urging transformation of volunteer services to include community wellness programs and other non-transport services.
Council members also raised deployment and dispatch issues. The ambulance corps’ president and council agreed that dispatch is “closest available appropriate unit,” which can mean county paid units or the volunteer corps depending on staffing and location. Council members noted that transport counts for the corps have fallen—from an average of 33 transports per month in 2023 to 20 per month in 2024 and 11 per month so far in 2025—and said that decline was part of the fiscal concern.
Resolution details and vote: Resolution 2025-11 dissolves prior formula-driven contribution language and makes the annual contribution a determination in the mayor’s proposed budget, reviewed by council during normal budget hearings. The council adopted the resolution by roll-call vote of 6-0.
Why it matters: The change shifts how the city budgets for emergency medical volunteer services, moving from a standing formula toward an annual budgeting decision. That will affect the ambulance corps’ predictability for budgeting and planning and may encourage the corps and the city to develop new partnership models, including community health or mobile-integrated health efforts.
Next steps and follow-up: Council members encouraged the corps to work with city staff and elected officials to develop partnership plans, fundraising strategies and operational metrics. Council also suggested exploring models that link funding to response metrics or expanded community-health roles, while keeping the corps available for surge events.
Ending: Resolution 2025-11 was adopted 6-0; council and the ambulance corps signaled a willingness to pursue joint planning to bolster volunteer capacity and integrate community-health services that might reduce emergency transports.
