(Randallsville, NY – July 7, 2015) Lebanon town officials will evaluate the proposed 1,000 percent rate hike requested for SOMAC ambulance coverage in the township in 2016, whose coverage area includes the majority of town residents and properties when they hold their monthly town board meeting on Monday July 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Office, 1210 Bradley Brook Road in the hamlet.
The public is invited to attend. SOMAC officials have been invited to discuss the proposal with the Lebanon Town Board.
Residents of the SOMAC ambulance protection contract area, which includes the greater Randallsville area are encouraged to attend and offer public comment. Property owners should check their property tax bill to see if they are in the SOMAC service area. Residents who are covered by either Hamilton or Earlville fire contracts are included in the SOMAC coverage area currently. The cost of SOMAC service for 2016 for a home with an assessed valuation of $100,000 is estimated to be about $72 but will be higher in Lebanon as the equalization rate was just lowered to 90 percent by the state at the most recent review.
The proposed tax increase by SOMAC will impact 746 taxable properties in the Hamilton and Earlville fire protection contract areas.
SOMAC is requesting a payment share by Lebanon residents of 17.79 percent of its proposed budget or $41,636.95. This represents nearly a 1,000 percent increase in costs compared to the SOMAC contract in 2015 of $4,200.
Lebanon also has contracts with the Eaton Fire District and the Town of Georgetown for those coverage areas. Georgetown has been charging $4,600 per year and Eaton charges approximately $2,054 for ambulance coverage. Both squads are few of the remaining volunteer ambulance services in the county.
SOMAC officials have been requested to attend the July 13 town board meeting to review the proposal with the Lebanon town board and town officials will also be taking public comment at that time.
Lebanon Supervisor Jim Goldstein said the town board has taken a deliberative approach to the SOMAC issue and has discussed coverage options with other ambulance contracts including Georgetown, the Village of Sherburne and Eaton. To date, only Sherburne remains interested in a territorial expansion to portions of Lebanon including the Craine Lake and River Road, Route 12B area just outside of Earlville. Sherburne currently covers ambulance service for the Chenango side of Earlville. Georgetown and Eaton have withdrawn for proposing coverage expansion.
The SOMAC proposal to form an ambulance district was defeated by Town of Hamilton voters last month so SOMAC will continue to have contracts with the towns it covers.
Areas of concern voiced at prior town meetings include the cost of the service, the amount of the increase, concerns about SOMAC bookkeeping and operations, complaints about call response and the quality of service, and concerns about the growing number of paid staff vs. volunteers. SOMAC has increased its rates to respond to complaints about not being available when they are transporting patients between medical facilities that are non-emergency but that the service gets reimbursed for. This proposal is supposed to ensure that ambulances are available 24/7 that are fully staffed, according to SOMAC officials, and reducing the number of transports.
Goldstein said he will ask the town board to make a decision as to which direction it wants to move on this issue as he has to start preparing the town budget in August and will need to anticipate how much the ambulance contract issues will cost taxpayers.
Despite significant publicity in the township, Goldstein said that he has received limited feedback on the SOMAC proposal – estimating he has heard from about 8 residents opposed and 6 residents in favor of the proposal to date. Since state law prohibits the town from holding a voter referendum on this issue, Goldstein said the town board has to rely on input at public meetings and encourages those who either favor or oppose the proposal to attend and express their views. The town board will have to make a decision by October for their final town budget for 2016.
Town officials will also discuss code enforcement, dog enforcement and a review of the town Land Management Local Law and subdivision laws when they meet July 13.
All residents concerned about ambulance coverage and costs are encouraged to attend this meeting and make their feelings as taxpayers and recipients of the ambulance service known to the town board.