5 of 7 towns approve contract with Monroe Ambulance with last 2 voting next week

Five of the seven towns in a proposed contract with Monroe Ambulance have approved a contract for 2024.

The remaining two towns, Gaines and Carlton, vote next week. The $300,000 contract requires all seven towns to ratify the deal.

The seven towns are divvying up the share for each municipality based on the call volume. That puts Gaines and Carlton among the lowest in expense. Gaines would need to pay $12,030 in 2024 while Carlton is at $22,350. (Gaines was at $24,600 in 2023 and Carlton at $14,800 this year.)

The town boards in the other municipalities have already agreed to their contributions for 2024 (with 2023 in parentheses): Albion at $155,820 ($84,400), Barre at $13,740 ($8,000), Clarendon at $25,350 ($18,800), Kendall at $17,850 ($0) and Murray at $52,860 ($30,600).

The Gaines Town Board meets at 7 p.m. on Monday at the Gaines Town Hall, 14087 Ridge Road West. There will be a public hearing on the ambulance contract and then a vote by the Town Board.

Carlton will meet at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Town Hall, 14351 Waterport-Carlton Rd.

The towns started paying for ambulance coverage for the first time in 2023. In 2023, Monroe sought $200,000 from the seven towns. It was reduced to $181,200 after Kendall bowed out of the contract, claiming it didn’t need to pay because there already was an agreement with the local fire districts in Kendall.

In 2024, Kendall will be paying out of its town budget. The $300,000 contract calls for Monroe to station an ambulance in Albion 24 hours a day, seven days a week and one in Holley for at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Monroe also will draw on ambulances in Monroe County if there is a need in Orleans County.