RICHMOND
Gardiner Ambulance Service will take over ambulance services for Richmond in October after its current provider opted not to renew its contract with the town.
Forty voters attended a special town meeting in Richmond last week and agreed to appropriate $13,941 for the ambulance services.
Town officials learned in June after its annual town meeting that North East Mobile Health Services would not renew its contract with the town that ended June 30. The company has provided ambulance services for six years at no charge for Richmond, which does not have a first responder program.
The town requested proposals from Gardiner Ambulance Service and Delta Ambulance as well as North East. The town, however, only received a proposal from Gardiner Ambulance, to provide ambulance service to the town for one year at a cost of $18,588. Since North East has agreed to continue serving Richmond until Oct. 1, Gardiner agreed to only charge the town $13,941 for ambulance service from Oct. 1 to June 30, 2016.
Town Manager Janet Smith said Monday that the discussion raised at the meeting focused more on the second question concerning multi- year contracts. Voters authorized the selectmen and the treasurer to enter into multiyear contracts necessary to provide services — including, but not limited to, ambulance service, cemetery mowing and banking.
Smith said residents wanted to know if the authorization would be a required annual house keeping item at town meeting and asked if it could “lock the town into something.”
She noted however that money for those service still need to be appropriated every year.
Smith said earlier this month that the tax rate will not increase because of this additional expenditure if voters agree to raise and appropriate $ 13,941 for ambulance services.
The 42-minute meeting was held at Marcia Buker School. The 40 registered voters attending represented a 1.7 percent voter turnout.
dmoore@timesrecord.com
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