SOUTH PARIS – The Oxford County commissioners greeted new charges for ambulance services in the unorganized territories with raised eyebrows at a meeting Tuesday.
“It’s a difficult increase,” Commissioner Jim Carey said, referring to a proposed $6,226 hike in service costs.
According to Administrative Assistant Carole Mahoney, Oxford County was billed $4,938 for ambulance services in the unorganized territories in 2004. For the fiscal year starting in July, however, the county is being asked to pay $11,204.
The new charges are a result of an effort by Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington to consolidate ambulance services for Franklin and Oxford counties. Their NorthStar Emergency Medical Services will now be handling calls for Oxford County’s unorganized townships and plantations.
NorthStar Director David Robie said Tuesday the increase in costs is due to losses the ambulance service expects in the coming fiscal year.
“We anticipate a deficit of approximately $700,000 for the entire NorthStar region,” Robie said, explaining that the costs of fuel, equipment and unpaid or partially paid Medicare or Medicaid claims make up that amount.
Robie said the ambulance service is responsible for an area of almost 22,000 square miles between Oxford and Franklin counties and serves 70 municipalities and unorganized territories.
Oxford County’s share of the $700,000 deficit, the $11,204, was based on a formula of one-third population, one-third property valuation and one-third the number of housing units in the area served, Robie said.
He explained that other areas covered by NorthStar were billed on variations of that formula.
Commissioner David Duguay pointed out that the $11,204 came out to a charge of $83.26 per capita for the Oxford County unorganized territories, and said in his hometown of Byron, residents pay only $7 per capita for ambulance services.
“That’s quite a discrepancy,” he said.
The commissioners agreed to study the issue further before deciding whether they would pay the requested amount. Robie acknowledged that Franklin County and towns in the NorthStar service region have said they don’t have enough money in their budgets to pay the increased charges.
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