Four months have passed since Voorheesville Area Ambulance Service’s contract with the village expired, and contract negotiations have flatlined.
Negotiations stalled when a majority of the Voorheesville Board of Trustees wanted to withhold about $8,800 in funding from the ambulance service’s reserve accounts, saying the village faces challenges in supporting its $2.12 million budget. The reserve account typically funds vehicle purchases and capital projects.
Mayor Robert Conway said trustees are weighing their options and discussed the contract at a Tuesday, April 23, meeting.
“The board is kind of split right now on what is the best way forward,” Conway said. “We have a few board members that are leaning towards signing the contract and moving forward and there are a couple of board members adamant about not signing the contract given all the other budget saving steps we took and additional budget pressure we are under.”
The village pays about $28,000 per year into the ambulance service’s operating fund, some of which is reimbursed to the village through billings. The Town of New Scotland and the Village of Voorheesville split the service’s costs 60-40.
Originally, New Scotland and Voorheesville officials were going to withhold a combined $22,000 in reserve funding. After ambulance service representatives appeared at New Scotland’s budget hearing, the Town Board restored its portion of funding, according to New Scotland Supervisor Thomas Dolin.
“They explained the need for the reserves and it was the board’s conclusion that it would be appropriate to continue that reserve for another year,” Dolin said. “We are going to look at it again this year.”
The rest of the contract doesn’t appear to be in contention. Calls to Voorheesville Area Ambulance Service were not returned.
Conway said Voorheesville trustees feel negotiations are not progressing and some concerns are starting to surface.
“We are now entering into the fifth month and there has been no movement. You start getting concerned about liability issues and those types of things,” Conway said.
He was hopeful the issue would be resolved by the board’s Wednesday, May 8, workshop, but said it was “highly unlikely” the ambulance service would sign a contract without reserve funding restored.
Conway said the ambulance company is still serving the village, but it is his understanding it is not billing for services within the village.
Conway said he hasn’t meet with anyone from the ambulance service since the company’s meeting in early March. He said both sides laid out their positions at the end of the meeting and the ambulance service’s Captain Ray Ginter said he would talk to the Board of Directors and get back to Conway. According to Conway, this hasn’t happened yet.
The village was providing tax-free fuel to the company, which is a common offering because it simplifies the process for the ambulance service. Since there is no contract with the village, continuing to offer the fuel has also raised concerns.
Conway said the village had tried to set a temporary agreement for fuel purchasing. The company now gets its fuel tax-free from New Scotland. The Town Board unanimously approved a fuel purchasing agreement with the company at its Wednesday, March 13, meeting.
Without the purchasing agreement with the town, the ambulance service could go to a private seller and then apply for a refund from the state.