FARMINGTON – Town officials in northern parts of Franklin County were reeling Friday after receiving additional bills totaling $122,577 for ambulance services. This was above their budgeted subsidies and they didn’t know where the extra money was going to come from.

Municipal officials in the LifeStar and Community Emergency Services area in southern Franklin County and northern Androscoggin County were pleased with the rebate checks they received with a combined total of $77,595.

Franklin Memorial Hospital’s ambulance network had more than a $700,000 deficit for the year ending June 30.

Hospital President Richard Batt announced Thursday a decision to develop a plan to consolidate its services into one regional service that would not jeopardize the quality of care those entities offer but run more efficiently and be affordable to the towns.

Part of the hospital’s plan would reduce the number of ambulance sites in northern areas from three to two, unless communities object.

The preliminary consolidations could bring about $100,000 savings to the ambulance service.

Hospital officials plan to seek community approval but realize that some towns might not be in agreement.

Though some municipal officials think regionalization of the hospital’s five ambulance services is a good business decision, they’re concerned about the subsidies the towns would be charged and the services they would receive.

Several officials plan to reserve judgment until they see the subsidy and service plan.

Some towns in the southern part of the hospital’s coverage don’t want to pay for deficits in the northern region because of lower call volume and traveling longer distances.

Both Farmington Town Manager Richard Davis and Jay Town Manager Ruth Marden said it’s too soon to comment on the regional proposal.

Davis and Temple Selectman Bob Stevens among others said they want to see a subsidy plan.

His greatest concern, Davis said, is that the town of Farmington ends up paying for towns in the northern tier.

“It’s not that we don’t want to be good neighbors and work together on a regional basis,” he said. “I have to look out for the taxpayers of Farmington.”

“My gut reaction theoretically on this is if this was a large business, it would be the right thing to do,” Stevens said. “But this not a business. It exists because of subsidies.”

Stevens said he could not fathom Temple paying a subsidy that would support services in Carrabassett Valley or Rangeley.

“It don’t see it as any way of justice at all,” Stevens said. Eustis Selectmen’s Chairman Jay Wyman said that he’s not happy with the shortfall and plans to meet with hospital officials to discuss it.

However, a regionalization plan makes good business sense on the hospital’s part, he said, but some problems would need to be ironed out.

Rangeley Town Manager Perry Ellsworth said consolidation may be difficult.

“I think it’s a major issue that’s going to take a lot of thought and good planning to come away with a good plan that’s workable for the entire Franklin Memorial Hospital region,” Ellsworth said. “Because they’re looking at regionalization and people are territorial, it’s going to be difficult.”

Rangeley, which owns two ambulances the hospital provides service with and the building they’re housed in, is faced with paying $42,358 more than the $184,000 allotted to cover Rangeley and townships and plantations in Franklin and Oxford counties.

Rangeley pays the whole bill for services to the hospital and sends out bills to those overseeing the places the service covers.

“We’re not really very happy,” Carrabassett Valley Town Manager Dave Cota said. His town received a bill for $26,000, above its $89,000 subsidy.

Cota said he didn’t know there was a deficit until Thursday even though there is an option in the contract that the town committee and the hospital must adopt operation remedies to reverse deficits to achieve financial break-even before the contract is up.

While Cota applauded the hospital for trying to move forward to resolve funding issues, he said, it will be important to communicate what the service levels and differences would be under the new plan and what the subsidies would be to community members.