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Fire chief outlines budget needs as council agrees to keep exploring county 'voucher' option
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Summary
Fire Chief Mason McBride detailed capital needs, EMS revenue projections and millage scenarios; council agreed to continue discussions about a county voucher program and the possibility of a municipal EMS/fire approach, but made no final decision.
Fire Chief Mason McBride told the council that Wellsville’s fire and EMS financing would require significant changes to expand paid staffing and capital replacement and that a county-proposed "voucher" option could be a middle-ground approach.
McBride presented line items and revenue assumptions: he said the department’s baseline was "about $700,000" before anticipated revenue, and with projected ambulance and other revenue it could come down to around $500,000. He described a capital set-aside of roughly $240,000 per year for vehicles and equipment and said county ambulance billing in the Wellsville area last year totaled about $317,000, with the department collecting about 40% of billed charges.
Council members asked how a county voucher or a fire district at different millage levels would affect residents. A staff summary discussed a theoretical 80-mill maximum and a calculation that at an 80-mill level the county could generate roughly $371,000 for the service area; staff also noted ways to offset existing equipment levies so the net increase per household could be much lower than headline numbers. Several members urged caution about relying on county funding without a written agreement.
After discussion the council passed a motion to continue studying the voucher option and pursue further analysis and agreements with the county; they did not adopt a new local tax or formally withdraw from the county fire district at this meeting.