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Belmar EMS director outlines 3:33 average response time and budget proposal of $144 per property
Summary
At a March workshop meeting, EMS director Robert Martin presented call-volume and response-time data and described coastal beachfront operations, training programs, and a proposed budget forecast that estimates roughly $144 per taxable property; councilors pressed for benchmarking and billing details.
Robert Martin, identified himself as director of VMS, and told the Belmar Borough Council on March 11 that the borough’s EMS program—created after the former Belmar First Aid Squad shut down in April 2021—handles roughly 1,200 calls a year and runs four ambulances.
Martin said the service’s average ambulance response time is 3 minutes, 33 seconds and its 90th‑percentile response time is 7 minutes, 59 seconds. “Our average response time is 3 minutes and 33 seconds,” he said, adding the agency operates a beachfront “feeder” program to train seasonal staff who later join the full operation.
The presentation included staffing and equipment details: Martin said the EMS has nine full‑time EMTs, additional part‑time and summer personnel for peak periods, and close coordination with lifeguards and the borough’s water‑rescue team.
Why it matters: Council members said they supported retaining strong local coverage for the busy beachfront but pressed for clearer benchmarking and longer‑term forecasts. Martin and borough staff said they have been working with CFO "laoren Graf" and Administrator Kane on a conservative budget model. Martin presented an estimated budget impact of about $144 per taxable property and said the projection is intended to be lower than last year’s figure.
During public questions, residents and councilors sought comparisons with county and state averages and more detail on billing and net revenue. Martin said the department uses a third‑party biller and practices “soft billing” (submitting to insurers without pursuing patient collections) and that transport revenue offsets some costs but does not cover the full operation. One resident urged the borough to publish a summary of the line‑item analysis used to build the $144 figure; the mayor and CFO said the executive‑session review covered detailed line items that are currently deliberative but that staff can prepare a public summary.
The council did not vote on funding or a contract at the meeting; the presentation was informational and was followed by a question‑and‑answer period. Council members said they plan follow‑up work to compare the borough’s assumptions with regional benchmarks and to monitor mutual‑aid arrangements with neighboring EMS providers.
