Annul Town reports are important and when Town departments, boards, committees, commissions submit their information for said annual town report, no one should be altering, editing or leaving out said information.
Templeton Annual Town report of 2005, page 44, "after many meetings, Templeton board of selectmen and fire department members voted to start a paid ambulance service in Town. Templeton fire department operated a volunteer and free ambulance service since its inception."
Continuing the look at Templeton Town ambulance; 2006 annual town report, page 32: Beginning December 15, 2005, (FY2006) Templeton fire dept. began a third party billing service that allowed responding EMTs to be reimbursed for the countless hours spent on medical calls in town.
From the report, page 32; during the beginning of dept. third party billing service, a revolving account was set up to provide a way to not only pay EMS responders, but also to have a place for deposits to be placed to be used for the purchase of much needed medical and rescue equipment.
Also from the same report, page 31, EMS brought in $44,022.94 to the revolving account and $43,874.20 was expended, leaving $148.74 to be returned to the town. (general fund).
May 10, 2006, annual town meeting voted $125,000.00 for EMS expenses for fiscal year 2007. (article #22)
2007 Templeton annual town report, page 30, reported that being the first full year with third party billing, EMS brought in more money than expected, more money was needed for EMT stipends than was voted at town meeting, so a transfer of $22,500.00 from the town reserve fund was made for a total of EMS expense at $147,500.00, which not only went to EMT stipends but to cover billing company and ALS percentages (money spent to cover those added costs - the town was not yet at the ALS level).
From the same report, page 31, as the year progressed, there were 157 more ambulance calls than the previous year. As these calls added expense to the EMS amount voted at town meeting and the transfer out of town reserve fund, the service brought in more revenue than projected; $208,194.92.
I have not yet found records, but I believe this is where the previously created revolving fund was eliminated, as the EMS revenue was seen as a boom to town general fund revenue. (sound familiar)
In true Tempeton fashion, at the 2007 annual town meeting, an amount of $125,000.00 for EMS expense was voted - article 19, May 16.
2008 Templeton annual town report, page 28, At special town meeting on November 29, 2007 (fiscal year 2008) On a motion duly made and seconded the Town voted to raise and appropriate the sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000.00) to supplement the Fire Department/EMS Division expenses account for payroll and supplies. Passed/ November 29th @ 7:25
There was also a transfer of $20,000.00 from the town's reserve fund for EMS expenses. At the end of the day, medical billing brought in $224,701.74 and turned into the town general fund.
I believe the increase in ambulance receipts to the general fund over time made it hard and for some, to speak against creating an ambulance receipts fund, because the loss of revenue to the general fund would be hard to make up for and now you can see how and why the ambulance service is underfunded, as in lump sum disallows by the town administrator; it is easier to underfund the ambulance service than it is to make some hard decisions on the general fund side. In 2011, an ambulance receipts fund was created to begin in fiscal year 2013 and that is the year the town went down the path to town provided ALS ambulance service.
Fast forward to the present - transfers from ambulance receipts to general fund began again in fiscal year 2018 - at 2017 annual town meeting.
Doing some reading on the Templeton monthly expenditure reports - Ambulance receipts. (I read one email; "we will build it up over time") So I went back to the beginning of fiscal year 2020 (July 1, 2019 - to date)
Page 5 of monthly expenditure report shows:
Beginning balance (allocated) $406,863.03
Expended (town meeting transfer) $270,000.00
Amount left (ending) $136,863.00
March 31, 2020 - ending $305,446.46
Right now the warrant for annual town meeting shows a request for a transfer from ambulance receipts of $270,000.00.
FY2018 annual town meeting records show a transfer from ambulance receipts of $225,000.00. FY2019 annual town meeting records show a transfer from ambulance receipts of $250,000.00. FY2020 monthly expenditure record shows transfer of $270,000.00.
The transfers of money went to support the general fund, which we are now being told cannot fully fund the ambulance service - lack of money.
