FARMINGTON – Town officials’ reactions were mixed Tuesday on Franklin Memorial Hospital’s plan to consolidate five ambulance services into one system.

Some officials raised concerns about what they said are inequitable projected subsidies, which range from $1,900 for Somerset County unorganized territories to $116,000 in Rangeley.

The consolidation proposal unveiled Monday by Franklin Memorial Hospital President Rick Batt will be implemented July 1, 2005, if towns approve the contracts. The plan calls for the five ambulance bases, now located in Sugarloaf Ambulance and Rescue in Carrabassett Valley, Farmington, Livermore, Phillips and Rangeley, to be reduced to four by eliminating the AMPS Ambulance base in Phillips.

The plan also would reduce three ambulances to two in the Sugarloaf service area.

The elimination of the AMPS base and the projected subsidy of $30,200 for Phillips in 2006 had Phillips Selectman Steve Charles making calls Tuesday and exploring other emergency medical service options.

The neighboring town of Strong, now served by LifeStar Ambulance of Farmington, had a projected subsidy of $7,700. Avon, another neighboring town, which is served by AMPS, had a projected $16,700 subsidy, he said.

Charles said AMPS is a centrally located base that supports the two northern services and could support the other services as well.

Charles said he disagreed with hospital officials who say AMPS is a “costly and underutilized” service. When bills for deficits were send out several weeks ago, Charles said Phillips’ bill was much less than others.

He also noted that all existing services are part of the hospital’s emergency medical service system to protect the people of the area.

If you remove part of the system, Charles said, it leaves a hole in the service.

“We’re not talking about a road,” he said. “We’re talking about people’s lives. The people of Phillips need an ambulance and they want an ambulance. I think the people of Phillips are not going to be happy.”

Carrabassett Valley Town Manager Dave Cota said the contract is a step in the right direction. He understood the need to consolidate services, he said, but the subsidy formula needs to be revised in the future to resolve inequities.

Hospital officials said they tried to revise the subsidy schedule, but to avoid drastic effects on any one town they decided to apply the current financial support amounts for the first two-year contract. The subsidies will be adjusted in the second year.

Livermore Administrative Assistant Kurt Schaub said that from what he has read, the contract appears to be fair, and that residents’ tax dollars would not be supporting services in other areas.

Kingfield selectmen Chairman John Dill said he was waiting to see how the hospital figured out the projected subsidies. He said $50,000 for about 1,000 residents was high.

Farmington Town Manager Dick Davis said the contract doesn’t look too bad. There are still some questions that need to be answered, including staffing levels. He said he would expect a revised contract addressing those to be issued.

“Beyond that, the subsidy fee looks pretty favorable,” Davis said, but agreed with Cota about subsidy inequities.

Eustis selectmen Chairman Jay Wyman said he considered the contract fair and reasonable and planned to discuss it with selectmen.

Rangeley Town Manager Perry Ellsworth said he thought the subsidy for Rangeley was “extremely high.”