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Chautauqua County began its fly-car program with hopes it would be self-sustainable. After seven years, they have determined it won’t be the case.
Emergency Medical Service responses that were once handled by private entities or volunteer forces have been seeing a major shift in operations over the last decade. More of these transports are being done by municipalities with the aim of attempting to grow a portion of revenues for their beleaguered budgets.
Too often, however, a much rosier financial picture of the service is offered by elected leaders. That’s not an indictment on area officials, it also speaks to what is being said around the region.
Take the town of Tonawanda in Erie County. Last week, The Buffalo News reported its supervisor announced plans to launch the EMS service due to what he termed as delayed response times from its current provider in Twin City Ambulance.
“Our ambulance corps will ensure that our residents will be receiving the best emergency care they need when they need it the most,” Supervisor Joseph Emminger said at a news conference at the town’s police and courts complex that was covered by the News.
Part of the plans include the purchase of four ambulances and the hiring of 20 EMTs. Emminger, in typical politician speak, expects the service will break even at worst — or eventually make money for the town.
That prediction deserves plenty of scrutiny. Each one of those new hires have an added expense to the taxpayers of at least $100,000 in salary and benefits annually that will likely total more than $2 million per year.
Is Tonawanda expecting revenues to top those start-up costs?
Anyone who is paying attention to the changing world of health care would understand how tough it is to back up the financial cheer. In Chautauqua County, the transport program has not come close to paying for itself.
For the right reasons, the mobile fly-car initiative got off the ground in 2017 after approval by county legislators. It was an effort to better serve rural communities due to the number of volunteer EMTs decreasing and a flow of emergency calls increasing.
A study conducted by a Massachusetts firm in 2016 recommended the county-sponsored response program to assist volunteers and commercial units. Vehicles include cardiac monitoring equipment, pain medication and anticonvulsant medication.
Up until this year, there was a hope and sentiment the effort would be self-sustaining. There’s no doubting the need when it comes to the fly cars, but the financials have never been pretty — with the program this year running at a loss of $650,000 for the county.
Fredonia’s recent projections are just as troublesome. Unveiled in 2014 as a way to help add revenues for the village Fire Department, the current EMS overestimations have contributed to a nearly $900,000 deficit in its 2023-24 budget.
As an example, the village forecast $800,000 in revenues through its ambulance service. Near the end of the fiscal year, that amount was closer to $400,000.
Jamestown could be in the same position as the north-county village. The city began its response service in recent years, but revenues for the program are coming in below expectations. During a presentation on a projected deficit for this year, Mayor Kim Ecklund noted earnings for the services were short by $200,000 less than the expected $550,000 this year.
These overstated revenue figures back up a study done last year by the Firefighters Association of the State of New York that found the efforts of 80,000 volunteers were saving taxpayers $4.7 billion in pay, benefits, operating, maintenance and capital costs. “This report underscores the importance and value of the volunteer firefighting service to New York,” former FASNY President Edward Tase Jr. said in a press release. “Without the dedication and service of the brave volunteers throughout the state, local taxpayers would face a significant financial burden to fund the type of emergency response they are accustomed to. Our volunteer firefighters train extensively to be able to respond to their neighbors in a time of need, and we are proud to do our part to keep this great state safe and taxpayer costs for fire protection low.”
For 2025, there appears to be a more realistic approach for the fly-car service. Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel is projecting revenues to decrease from the $1,759,403 to $1,400,081 in his recent proposal.
“There’s no money in EMS calls,” Wendel said. “If there was, more people would be doing it. … We don’t want to run deficits like we’ve seen. We’re trying to get costs under control.”
That’s a realistic and honest approach that sends an accurate message about the needed and highly regarded service. It also balances the books when it comes to the expenses for the program.
Tonawanda, like Chautauqua County, is getting ready to move in this direction as a way to assist its residents in the emergency transport business. It needs to add one more dose of reality for its constituents: EMS is rarely, if ever, a money-making endeavor for the government.
John D’Agostino is editor of The Post-Journal, OBSERVER and Times Observer in Warren, Pa. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 716-487-1111, ext. 253.