Brentwood subcommittee and Fremont officials explore joint ambulance pact after Raymond Ambulance announces exit

Brentwood subcommittee members and Fremont officials met to evaluate a proposal for Fremont to join Brentwood's ambulance coverage after Raymond Ambulance Inc. notified neighboring towns it will disband on March 31, 2027. A Fremont representative said the town's preliminary contribution figure is about $90,000 and that the town intends to present its plan to voters in September or October.

The meeting was billed as a fact-finding session to align expectations before drafting contract language. "We've had a long term relationship with Raymond... we've just been notified that they're disbanding as of 03/31/2027," said Committee member (S9), noting the urgency of finding interim coverage. Agency official (S2), who outlined operational and financial assumptions behind the $90,000 figure, said the estimate came from a review of payer mix, mileage payments for rural transports, projected insurance reimbursements and added vehicle costs. "I ran the whole gamut of Medicare and Medicaid scenarios," Agency official (S2) said, and cautioned the figure was an initial proposal that could be negotiated.

Why it matters: residents and select-board members warned that past contracts (with Raymond) had been highly favorable to some communities and that any new arrangement should avoid shifting unfair costs to Brentwood taxpayers. At the meeting Committee member (S7) cited Brentwood's recent EMS volume and budget as context, saying Brentwood handled roughly 627 EMS calls last year and that its fire-related budget is much larger than Fremont's. Fremont attendees cited their own roughly 431-call figure and argued that shared staffing could increase responsiveness for both towns.

Residents asked for safety clauses in the draft contract. "Would it be possible to put wording in the contract that would say if the amount we get for billing drops below a certain threshold that Fremont would have to cover the difference?" asked Letty Bedard, who identified herself as a resident. Several participants replied that such revenue-guarantee models exist and can be written into agreements; one subcommittee member said they had a model that includes a revenue expectation with a fallback payment if receipts fall short.

Operational model and mutual aid: Agency official (S2) described how adding a third on-duty provider at the station could allow care to begin locally while a mutual-aid ambulance handles transport, shortening time-to-treatment without necessarily requiring additional transports by Brentwood crews. The group discussed cross-training rescue squad volunteers to ride on transport vehicles as an interim measure; an EMT in the room (EMT (S8)) confirmed that training and familiarization with equipment would be required before volunteers could routinely perform transports.

Options on the table included negotiating a multi-year contract with extensions (participants referenced 3—5-year starting terms) or running an RFP to test the market. Several Brentwood participants said an RFP could help set voter expectations and reveal whether private contractors would bid; others argued a regionalized/cooperative model with a nearby town could be more practical and consistent with existing mutual-aid practices.

Data gap and next steps: participants repeatedly said Raymond Ambulance Inc. had not shared operational or billing data. To resolve uncertainty, the group agreed to meet with a billing consultant, Jeff Spencer of MBS, to examine payer mix and revenue projections. The subcommittee discussed scheduling a chiefs/billing meeting in late July and agreed lawyers would later review contract language. The group also discussed whether any intermunicipal agreement should be placed on both towns' warrant articles and publicized together; SB 2 (the town's budgeting statute) and warrant procedures were raised as constraints affecting how a multi-year agreement could be approved.

No formal motion or vote was taken at the meeting. Participants characterized the session as preliminary and focused on gathering accurate numbers before any formal commitment. The subcommittee said it will share contact information, reconvene with chiefs and billing staff, and draft contract language for future review by legal counsel and, if appropriate, by town voters.