Two members of the Boothbay Region Ambulance Service attended the Feb. 25 Boothbay Harbor budget committee meeting to discuss the funding request made by the service.

Last year, the town approved $168,487 for BRAS. This year, the service is asking for $196,010, a 16 percent increase, despite the fact that call volumes have actually dropped, according to numbers provided by BRAS representatives.

Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor and Southport all monetarily support the Ambulance Service based on population vs. call volume from each town. Though Boothbay Harbor has 39 percent of the population, it has nearly 60 percent of the call volume.

According to BRAS Operations Manager Scott Lash, this is mostly due to St. Andrews Village and the three housing complexes located in Boothbay Harbor (School Street, Campbell Creek Village and Bay Landing). There is also a large seasonal increase in the summer months.

Both the budget committee and town selectmen were leery of the numbers and budget request brought forth by BRAS.

“The numbers (call volumes) have gone down and the budget is up,” Budget Committee member Mary Neal said. “That's a big red flag.”

BRAS Board President Rob Ham explained that the ambulance service had a difficult year. It changed its billing company and is working on changing its auditing firm. He explained part of the budget increase was to hire an administrative assistant to help with fundraising and day-to-day duties.

Last year, the selectmen and budget committee asked BRAS to do more fundraising and work on diversifying their board. This year, they raised the same points.

“You might call yourselves a service, but you are a business and you are playing with the big boys now,” Board of Selectman Chairman Denise Griffin said. “Every year it's the same story and we are not seeing progress.”

Selectman Wendy Wolf stated that, according to Maine State Law, a maximum of 49 percent of members on a nonprofit board may be financially invested in the group (or directly related to someone financially invested).

“The board is mostly made up of paid employees,” Wolf said. “There are certain rules governing nonprofits and you are out of compliance with them.”

A call to the Maine Attorney General's office confirmed the 49 percent rule, which does apply to ambulance services.

“We don't want to see you lose your nonprofit status,” Wolf said. “You would be unable to fund-raise. The (BRAS) board needs to think very carefully about the next steps.”

Selectman Bill Hamblen suggested that BRAS consider hiring an accountant rather than an administrative assistant, as many of the numbers regarding call volumes by town had mathematical errors. He also said they needed a real fundraising plan rather than a general idea.

“You haven't stepped back and done a thorough, strategic long-term plan,” Griffin said. “You have really good tactical, day-to-day operational people who do a quality job. But the board needs to be more strategic and have people with long-term vision who can create an effective fundraising plan.”

The selectmen and budget committee decided to table the discussion for two weeks and reopen the topic at their next meeting on March 11.

Budget committee member Mohamed Osman suggested in the time before that meeting, BRAS fix the numbers and increase the fundraising budget.

Related:

Ambulance subsidy request down

Towns will bear ambulance costs without help from LincolnHealth