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Residents and EMTs urge council to reject low county EMS offer, warn cuts would harm maternal care and safety
Summary
Residents and local EMS workers told the Lincoln Town Council to push back on a low Penobscot County offer for EMS coverage and to avoid budget cuts they say would weaken police, fire and emergency medical services. Speakers cited local run counts, long hospital travel times and possible staff losses.
David Moisten, a Lincoln resident, told the council the town should not accept what he described as Penobscot County’s low offer for providing EMS services to nearby unorganized territories and urged the council to negotiate harder. Moisten said Lincoln made five times the number of EMS runs in 2025 to the territories under discussion and estimated full-year costs to serve the area at roughly $90,000; he contrasted that figure with what he described in his remarks as a $2,000 county offer and urged a counteroffer ‘‘between 90 and, roughly, a $140,000.’'
Kelsey Perry, who identified herself as an EMT and firefighter with Lincoln Fire and a mother of two, told the council that cuts to EMS and fire services would put residents at risk. She cited statewide trends, saying 12 labor-and-delivery units have closed in Maine and that the nearest labor-and-delivery unit to Lincoln is about 45 minutes away. ‘‘Babies don’t wait 45 minutes,’’ Perry said, arguing that longer transport times and fewer staffed units increase the likelihood of emergency births and other life‑threatening situations outside a hospital setting.
Carrie Kirk, a 12‑year veteran of rural law enforcement and a Lincoln resident, said decisions about cuts should be informed by firsthand knowledge of rural EMS responses. She warned that volunteer responders and staff reductions are not equivalent to maintaining professional, trained emergency teams, and urged the council to look for revenue options rather than reduce core public-safety capacity.
Moisten recommended the council set a firm counteroffer or require Penobscot County to arrange alternative coverage if the county will not meet what he described as the true cost of service. Councilors asked for data sources during the discussion; Moisten said his figures were ‘‘based on actual run data’’ and framed the county offer as ‘‘poor treatment of Lincoln’s taxpayers.’'
Why it matters: Council debate over EMS financing and intergovernmental contracts will affect how quickly ambulances and fire personnel can respond to serious medical incidents and labor complications in and around Lincoln. Several public speakers warned that deep cuts to emergency budgets could produce staff attrition, reduced shift coverage and longer response times.
What’s next: The issue surfaced during the open forum and budget deliberations; councilors referenced the contract and the town’s existing mutual‑aid obligations while considering several departmental budgets on the agenda. Council action on specific EMS contracting decisions was not recorded as a separate formal vote during this meeting; the budget votes that followed will determine near‑term staffing and equipment levels for emergency services.
