(Lebanon, NY – Aug. 2015) Lebanon town officials will discuss ambulance service options for the current SOMAC territory and the town as a whole when it gathers for its monthly town board meeting on Monday, Aug. 10 at 7:30 p.m.at the Smith Valley Community Center in Randallsville at the intersection of River and Randallsville roads in the hamlet of Randallsville.
The public is invited to attend.
The Lebanon Town Board must decide soon as to whether Supervisor Jim Goldstein should include the proposed SOMAC budget in the 2016 proposed town budget as the anticipated ambulance contract, which will mean a 1,000 percent increase for taxpayers of that contract area that includes the Earlville and Hamilton fire contract areas. Inclusion of that budget will require a tax cap override by the Town Board.
Goldstein apologized at the July 13 meeting for the error last month of reporting the meeting was in Randallsville when it was actually scheduled for the town office in the hamlet of Lebanon. While many individuals on the email list from the town were notified of the mistake in time, those not on the list mistakenly went to Randallsville and some were unable to attend the meeting with SOMAC representatives, where an extensive question and answer discussion between Lebanon town officials, SOMAC representatives, Hamilton town officials and the public took place with regard to the proposed 1,000 percent increase in SOMAC taxes that will provide full time paid paramedic services and address past concerns with regards to local transports that created coverage issues.
To get Lebanon updates, please email Supervisor Goldstein at Lebanon@citlink.net to be added to the list.
Lebanon board members will seek to explore options and review the results of the SOMAC survey that has been sent out via the email list and is also available at the Town Office. All responses will protect the identify of those filling out the survey. The survey is focused on residents who live in the Earlville and Hamilton fire protection contract areas where SOMAC provides ambulance coverage.
To date, responses have indicated four residents in favor and four opposed to the increase who live in the SOMAC district. Goldstein said he is puzzled by the lack of response on the issue given the SOMAC ambulance service areas is the largest one in the township servicing the greater Randallsville area and portions of the township closer to Earlville. He says it represents a large portion of the town population. The decisions the town board makes will impact tax rates and ambulance service for a majority of town residents and property owners.
The proposal by SOMAC would increase the current contract of $4,200 to about $42,000 for town residents, a 1,000 percent increase, due to staffing issues at SOMAC, lack of volunteers, the desire to reduce turnover by adding full time paramedic staff 24/7 with benefits, and to reduce non-emergency medical transports unless these can be handled more by volunteers to generate additional revenue.
SOMAC board president Vinnie Farrone and Town Supervisor Eve Ann Shwartz reported at that meeting that SOMAC has made structural changes in its organization, will have its complete audit of finances available soon and will commit to a greater level of transparency and oversight. SOMAC requires this level of increase as representatives report that they have depleted their reserves and will incur an anticipated deficit of up to $250,000 in 2016 without the increase to be paid by Lebanon and Hamilton area taxpayers.
Farrone projected that this may become the future direction of ambulance and fire protection in the county as departments are losing volunteers and paid regional or countywide services are being considered, which will raise property taxes and change coverage areas. Farrone anticipates that in the future, a town like Lebanon might have response stations in different locations and projects this may become a necessary regional or county model for rural areas with aging populations and declining volunteers. Lebanon has two of the few all volunteer ambulance services left – Georgetown and Eaton.
Lebanon town officials fielded questions from a number of town residents on issues ranging from cost to staffing to volunteer recruitment, to board structure to SOMAC finances to the willingness of SOMAC to open all its meetings to the public. Some residents spoke in favor of the increase and the service and some raised questions.
Goldstein said that he has heard from a surprisingly limited number of residents on this issue and would estimate that to date, based on the contacts he has received he counts nine residents in the SOMAC service area who have told him they oppose it and six residents who have told him they favor the increase.
Lebanon town officials have explored multiple options, which include changing the SOMAC service area to a smaller area and bringing in the Sherburne municipal ambulance service to cover a portion of that contract area near and outside of Earlville, and exploring expansion of territory with the current Georgetown and Eaton ambulance contract services. Eaton and Georgetown have not offered any expansion proposals but Sherburne has offered a proposal with regard to some of the territory on a per call basis.
Town officials will be discussing options with the town attorney on Aug.10 in Randallsville who has been in contact with state public health officials, which include changing the size of the SOMAC coverage area, considering a change in the way the town does ambulance contracts or accepting the SOMAC proposal and including it in the 2016 town budget even though it will make compliance with the state tax cap irrelevant.
Goldstein encourages more residents to respond and inform their town representatives of their position on the issue.
Contact information is as follows:
Council Ron Jones akron@twcny.rr.com
Council Carol King cking63@twcny.rr.com
Council Pat Matson pamatson@twcny.rr.com
Council Marie Morgan mariemorgan1148@yahoo.com
Supervisor Jim Goldstein Lebanon@citlink.net
You can also find information on town officials at the town website at www.TownofLebanon.org