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Select Board advances ambulance and fire-rescue budgets amid debate over Raymond contract and possible full-time staffing
Summary
Chief Fisher told the board Raymond Ambulance proposed a roughly $70,000 contract and has been unavailable for roughly 10–15% of calls; the board approved the ambulance and fire-rescue budgets after discussing service reliability, mutual aid and whether to pursue a town-owned ambulance or a future full‑time firefighter.
The Select Board advanced the ambulance and fire-rescue budgets after debating contract costs, response availability and whether Deerfield should consider a town-owned ambulance or hiring full-time staff.
Chief Fisher said Raymond Ambulance proposed a one-year contract at roughly $70,000, up from about $17,000 historically. He supplied response data showing Raymond was unavailable on roughly 10% of calls in 2023 and about 14.7% (rounded) in 2024. “In 2023, total EMS, we had 378 medical calls...so just about 10% Raymond was not available,” he said, later noting 14.71% for 2024.
Board members expressed concern about occasional unavailability and whether mutual aid and local fire-rescue crews could adequately stabilize patients until transport arrived. The chief described mutual‑aid coverage and changes Raymond had made to staffing hours to improve availability.
Discussion also touched on long-term planning. The chief urged considering whether Deerfield might eventually operate its own ambulance and flagged rising call volumes and recruitment challenges for volunteers. He proposed a symbolic $1 placeholder in the full‑time employee line to keep options open; some selectmen objected to signaling an intent to hire full-time staff, arguing it could make passing the budget politically harder.
The board approved the ambulance budget reflecting the new contract projection and moved the fire-rescue budget (about $383,246) with one selectman recorded as opposed. The chief said he would pursue a warrant article if additional part‑time hours proved necessary or if the operating budget failed.
Next steps: budgets will go to the Municipal Budget Committee; the chief will return with any contract finalization details and continued tracking on ambulance availability.
