HARPSWELL — On Thursday night, the Harpswell Board of Selectmen will take its first look at hard figures from a proposal to support an in-town paramedic from Mid Coast Hospital.
The proposal comes as part of a full budget review that will continue through mid- February in preparation for the March 10 annual town meeting, according to Town Administrator Kristi Eiane.
Overall, the proposed budget marksa7percent increase over last year, which Eiane said is due in large part to the full- time paramedic proposal and the cost of replacing a marine patrol boat that last year was deemed unsafe for shellfish wardens to use.
Eiane said the proposed increase — a total of $290,556 over last year’s budget allocation — would be paid for with approximately $ 170,000 in reserve funds and $ 120,000 from state revenue sharing.
As part of those increases, the budget proposed by the town’s Budget Advisory Committee includes estimated costs of a full-time, weekday paramedic and funding for a garage that would be necessary to keep an ambulance located in Harpswell.
To fund operating costs of a Monday-Friday paramedic, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., the committee projected an increase of $107,760 over the $18,720 budgeted last year for regional emergency medical response services.
In the proposed budget, the town would continue a contract for the existing regional response services.
In addition to operating costs, $74,000 is estimated to fund the construction of an EMS garage, representing a total projection of $181,760 to bring weekday EMS service to Harpswell.
Eiane said the proposal came forward after members of the town’s volunteer emergency medical services team expressed concerns about the difficulty in finding volunteers to cover weekday shifts.
In December, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to support an October study by a coalition of volunteer fire agencies serving Harpswell. The study concluded that EMS services were most difficult for volunteers to provide during regular business hours Monday through Friday.
“The Mid Coast (Hospital) team would also be responsible for some of the administrative burden that has fallen on the volunteer department,” Eiane said.
Eiane said initial discussions indicate that Mid Coast Hospital is interested in the plan. Details of where an EMS garage would be located are still in the works, but Eiane said the location would need to be on town- owned property and would likely be in the vicinity of the town office on Mountain Road.
“We would probably bring in a consultant to look at the locations,” Eiane said. “We need some professional expertise to evaluate site conditions to find where would make the most sense.”
To replace the marine patrol boat, the budget advisory committee suggested adding $35,000 to an existing $38,000 fund. Eiane estimated the cost to replace the boat would be $54,000.
Other proposed budget increases include spending for the town dock and town landings, as well as costs of recreation services, which Eiane said will help offset registration fees and costs that would otherwise be increased for participants in town recreation activities.
The Board of Selectmen will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Harpswell town office, 263 Mountain Road.
To read the draft budget that will be considered Thursday, visit http://tiny.cc/h-budget.
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