🚑 The cost of ambulance rides has soared over the last seven years. According to FAIR Health, most services increasingly bill for “advanced life support” where prices have risen by more than 56%. In some areas, like the Arlington Fire District in Poughkeepsie, expenses have ballooned out of control and often exceed planned budgets. Demand for ambulance services is likely to increase as our population ages.
Image from Unsplash
🚒 According to the AFD Reporter, the Arlington Fire District has exceeded its budget for the fourth year in a row. Arlington Fire District Commissioners approved a 13.4% tax increase for 2024. Since 2020, the overtime budget has increased 61% from 1.7 million to 2.75 million. The overall budget for the Arlington Fire District has increased from 18.4 million to 25 million since 2020 exceeding the tax cap three out of the last four years.
👨🚒 The most striking figure reported by the Arlington Fire District reveals that 90% of the 2024 budget, totaling $25 million, is allocated to firefighter compensation and benefits. Additionally, the district's top ten active employees earned well over a million dollars collectively, including overtime. See the image below for details.
Image from AFD Reporter
🏞 Rural areas in Dutchess County largely rely on Volunteer Firefighters. Recently it has become increasingly difficult to attract enough volunteers and as a result, some districts face long ambulance response times. In some communities, such as Pawling ambulance response times can be over 20 minutes 25% of the time, but Pawling isn’t alone. In critical emergencies, the timeliness of response is crucial and can significantly impact an individual's survival.
🗽 State Structure of Fire Districts. According to New York State, “Fire districts are district corporations and political subdivisions of the State, distinct from the municipalities in which they are located. In general, fire districts are governed by an elected board of fire commissioners and are required to have a treasurer and secretary.” What does this mean? This translates to less taxpayer accountability for the budgets of fire districts because they are separate from towns and town boards who don’t approve or review their budgets. Furthermore, “A board of five fire commissioners governs every fire district in New York State. These commissioners are elected by the qualified voters of the fire district at the annual election held on the second Tuesday of December each year.”
🤝 Potential Solution - Consolidation into a County Wide Service. The creation of a countywide district from the consolidation of fire districts has the potential to reduce response times and save money for taxpayers in several ways. Through the process of centralizing resources and optimizing administrative tasks like training and procurement, a unified district can improve emergency response coordination and efficiency. Because unification, resources may be allocated according to need rather than district lines, which guarantees that the closest and most suitable units react to events quickly and cut down on response times. Consolidation can also result in economies of scale that save money on hiring staff, maintenance, and equipment purchases. Additionally, a united district might make it easier to plan strategically for investments and future demands, which would ultimately lead to improved emergency services at a lower cost to taxpayers.
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