BUTLER TWP — With emergency medical service agencies facing economic uncertainty, they have begun to reach out to the municipalities they serve for help keeping their services running.

Jessie Haas, director of Butler Ambulance Service, came to the Butler Township board of commissioners meeting Monday, Feb. 16, to ask for additional funding to continue to serve the community.

The presentation is part of a wider push by Butler Ambulance Service and other EMS agencies operating in the area to help stave off rising costs of service and difficulty finding new hires.

He said in 2025, the service had 2,704 responses in Butler Township and ended up transporting 1,779 people. He noted the service is paid only for transporting people to the hospital, about 66% of total calls, not for evaluations.

Another thing Haas noted was the cost of call readiness, which runs about $3,000 per ambulance per day.

“The two ambulances we have up the street, that is not even 24/7 coverage, would cost about $1.1 million,” he explained.

He explained the service and ones like it have trouble finding and retaining staff. The organization is about 20 employees short of full staffing.

To begin combating these issues, Haas said he is traveling to every municipality in the service’s coverage area to ask for a half-mill EMS tax or equivalent monetary support. He said Penn and Forward townships have both pledged to help.

“We’re here to offer support and ask for support from the township so we can continue to provide the service that we do to your residents,” he said.

To pass a dedicated tax, it would have to go through a township ordinance. The ordinance would require an introductory vote and must be advertised before it can go in effect.