The Anson-Madison-Starks Ambulance Service bought a new ambulance recently and decreased each town’s annual subsidy.
Though the vehicle cost about $150,000, the ambulance service received an approximate $31,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Office of Rural Development.
The rest is being paid with a low-interest USDA revolving fund loan, said Arnold Luce outgoing president of the ambulance service, which also responds to Embden.
The four towns that belong to the ambulance service are all paying a combined $28,500 less for the same service, said George Demchak, director of the ambulance service.
That was accomplished in part by having a director who also works full-time as a paramedic.
The ambulance service has 30 employees and responded to 1,724 calls in 2010, Demchak said. It’s on pace for more than 1,800 in 2011, for an average of five calls per day.
The service has three ambulances; two are staffed 24 hours per day. Its annual operating budget is about $850,000, of which $135,000 comes from Anson, Madison, Starks and Embden town assessments.
Erin Rhoda — 612-2368
erhoda@centralmaine.com
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