Providing ambulance and emergency services is one of the basic amenities towns and cities offer residents—and it’s expensive. Stafford’s ambulance service has been a frequent topic of conversation at Board of Finance meetings. Still, the ongoing audit of the 2023-2024 budget (due to the state at the end of the month) revealed a shortfall that requires transfers from other account lines to cover. This was discussed at the December 4, 2024 Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting.
Essentially, the audit process revealed a shortfall in the ambulance budget of $175,072.76, and Lynn Nenni — the town’s former interim CFO who is back to help with the audit — suggested a number of transfers from other departments to cover that shortfall. According to a memo provided to the Board of Selectmen, the shortfall in the ambulance’s operating budget is “primarily the result of the addition of ALS [Advance Life Support] services in the amount of $143,402 and shortfalls in the salary and fringe benefit accounts of $34,829.”
Selectman Kurt Vail called this a “big miscalculation” and asked if it would be an issue for the next budget. First Selectman Morrison explained the measures the town has taken to try and address this issue, which you can read about here. The gist is that the town ambulance was missing 40% of calls because the crew was already out on a call. So, Morrison decided to increase the pay to $21.50 per hour to make the jobs more competitive and have a backup crew to work on a per diem basis when necessary. This lets the ambulance receive more reimbursements from insurance companies, ultimately increasing the ambulance's revenue. As he said during last week's meeting, "If you don't make the call, you don't make the revenue."*
Additionally, Morrison said he renegotiated the amount Stafford pays Somers for paramedic calls so that it is at the same level as what the town pays Trinity for the same calls.
Selectman Rick Hartenstein said that in years past, “we haven’t had a real number” regarding the ambulance budget. Now, Morrison says the expenses and revenues of the ambulance service are accounted for as they should be so that during the upcoming budget talks, they will better understand how much it costs to run the department.
Vail also said that if the departments on the transfer list can get by without the funds being transferred to the ambulance budget, it should be considered during the next budget process. Morrison said the “extra” funds are due mainly to the budget freeze he instituted upon coming into office in November 2023.
The ultimate goal for this year’s budget is to have a clearer picture of the actual cost of ambulance services — as well as a conservative estimate of the revenue it brings in — so the town can say with more confidence, “This is what it costs to run the ambulance service.” Ultimately, the transfers were approved but must go to the Board of Finance before finally going to a Town Meeting to be fully approved.
*UPDATE: This story previously suggested that Stafford had to pay outside ambulance services when the town ambulance could not make a call. That is not the case; the town only pays for outside paramedic services.