Harmony EMS requests half-mill tax bump from 10 municipalities
In the wake of mounting financial strain, Harmony EMS has asked 10 partner municipalities to support a half-mill tax increase next year.
However, the agency’s director of operations said even if that push is successful, it would not be nearly enough to keep pace with the growing cost of providing emergency medical services across Butler County and beyond.
Lynn Curl, who has worked in the emergency medical field for 34 years, spending the last eight with Harmony EMS, said municipal leaders have been largely receptive to the proposal, but “nothing is set in stone.”
“They all agree something needs to happen because EMS needs funded,” Curl said. “It’s just a problem of what that looks like and how to do it.”
Curl said the requested half-mill levy would generate roughly $100,000 to $150,000 in new revenue.
While that sounds substantial, she warned that amount would not even cover the cost of refurbishing a single ambulance, which is the cheaper alternative to buying a new one. For reference, Harmony EMS refurbishes one ambulance each year on a rotating basis, at a cost of about $167,000.
“Even if we got the half-mill tomorrow from all our municipalities, that’s not even remounting one of our ambulances,” Curl said. “It absolutely does not solve the EMS funding problem.”
Curl said costs have risen while revenue has stayed largely flat due to stagnant insurance reimbursement rates and significant unpaid medical debt.
Harmony EMS writes off many of its bills for uninsured or non-paying patients, she said, leaving the agency to absorb thousands of dollars in losses annually.
At the same time, EMS staffing has become increasingly uncertain because of the pay scale. Curl said wages in the field are “decades behind,” forcing trained EMTs and paramedics to pursue better-paying medical careers.
“You can go to school for two years to be a paramedic and make $18 to $20 an hour,” she said. “Or you can go to school for two years to be a nurse and come out making double that. We’re losing people because they can’t support themselves or a family on an EMS wage.”
Curl confirmed the vast majority of agency’s 30 to 35 regular employees work multiple jobs just to make ends meet.
The half-mill increase is one of several recommendations made in a recently completed municipal EMS study that all 10 communities are now reviewing. Curl expects municipalities to begin acting on portions of the study “as soon as possible,” though each may choose different paths.
Curl said education is critical to helping residents understand what’s at stake.
Many people don’t know whether their local EMS is nonprofit or how it is funded. Although, she said, they still expect an experienced crew and modern equipment to arrive within minutes when they dial 911.
“The cost of readiness is the most expensive thing there is,” she said. “Even when the trucks aren’t doing calls, your costs don’t change.”
Curl said she hopes the public recognizes how long EMS agencies have stretched themselves to keep service levels intact.
“These ambulance services have survived 20 or 30 years without asking for help,” she said. “Instead of chastising them for finally asking, people should applaud that. We just want to make sure the next ambulance service that closes isn’t one that affects anybody here in this area.”
The future of the tax proposal now rests with local governments, which include Jackson, Lancaster, Connoquenessing, Forward and Franklin townships and Harmony, Zelienople and Evans City boroughs in Butler County, along with Marion and New Sewickley townships in Beaver County.
“Until the ink is dry, it (the support) doesn’t exist,” Curl said. “That’s just my mindset.”
