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Council weighs hospital ambulance contracts against stipends for volunteer first-aid corps
Summary
After reviewing two hospital-based proposals for daytime ambulance coverage, council members and volunteers debated whether outsourcing would erode the volunteer corps and explored a stipend program as an alternative; committee to meet with ambulance leadership for next steps.
Council reviewed proposals from two hospital ambulance providers and held a prolonged debate over whether to contract daytime service or seek a stipend program to sustain the volunteer first-aid corps.
Members reported one hospital proposal priced at about $2,020,000 and another at roughly $17,520 (figures as presented during the meeting). Several council members and volunteer leaders warned that assigning daytime coverage to a hospital-run service could reduce volunteer participation. "It sends a wrong signal to them," a councilmember said, arguing volunteers could stop responding if a paid service covered daytime calls.
Alternatives discussed included a federal five-year grant to seed a local stipend program for volunteers, per-diem hospital coverage in limited hours, and multi-town partnerships. The council asked the ambulance committee to meet with the ambulance corps leadership, collect cost details for a stipend program and return with recommendations for the budget process. No final procurement decision was made at the meeting.
