Regular Monthly Meeting Moved This Month to Wednesday
Auburn Township Supervisors (above, from right) Burton Hollister, Dan Trivett, and George Gregory, and secretary Emily Cleveland meet at the township office on SR3001 off SR267 at 7 pm on the first of each month. This week’s meeting will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 8, however, due to the general election.
Story and Photos by Rick Hiduk
(As published in the Susquehanna County Independent)
Meshoppen Fire Company chief Chris Carney and company president Travis Prevost attended the Oct. 3 meeting of the Auburn Township Supervisors to ask for their support for an increase in paid ambulance drivers to help ensure more adequate coverage for the area. Auburn Township is one of four municipalities to which Meshoppen Fire Company is a first responder and one of eight municipalities in three counties reached by Meshoppen Ambulance.
There were 66 ambulance calls to Auburn Township alone in the first six months of 2017, putting the municipality in third place behind Washington and Meshoppen townships in Wyoming County.
The company currently has paid staff 12 hours per day, seven days per week, including two shifts on weekends. The recently added weekend shifts and a shrinking volunteer force have put a strain in the company’s resources. The time an ambulance is in service has also increased in recent years, as Tyler Memorial Hospital in Tunkhannock no longer offers many vital services. Most of the patients are now being taken to Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and Sayre.
The situation reached a critical point this summer, Carney noted, when the company was down to four volunteers. Carney was on the verge of drafting a letter to outlying municipalities to notify them that service would be discontinued. The ambulance was not run for several days in August, resulting in response times of 45 minutes or longer as those in need waited for ambulances from as far away as Tunkhannock, Towanda and Kunkle. Paid staff, on the other hand, can be on the road in 90 seconds.
“No company is strictly volunteer anymore,” Carney (above) explained. “We’re trying to transition as fast as we can to a paid staff.” Carney and Prevost calculated that they would need at least $25,000 per year to add 24 hours per week to the payroll. They have embarked on a campaign to petition each municipality in their service area for at least $3,000 toward their goal.
“We’re not trying to get any more than what we need,” said Carney. “In fact, we’re not asking for as much as we need.” The company is committed, he added, to pursuing every possible source of revenue to remain solvent.
Auburn Township supervisor Burton Hollister asked how reimbursement from insurance companies affects their income, and Carney replied that Pennsylvania does not require insurance companies to pay fire companies, resulting in a meager five percent return for claims they file. The company is also prevented from raising its rates by the state’s Department of Health.
Board members were in agreement that emergency service is vital to their rural community, which is also served by Montrose Ambulance. The township recognizes and lends financial support to six surrounding fire companies.
“I’d like to get something in for this year,” Board chairman Dan Trivett suggested to Hollister and supervisor George Gregory. “We’re doing pretty good with gas money right now, but that can always change.”
The three supervisors unanimously approved a one time payment of $3,000 to Meshoppen Ambulance and agreed to review their status with the company on an annual basis.
Carney, in turn, assured the supervisors that the company has stepped up efforts to guard its funds with group audits at monthly meetings, annual independent audits, and a requirement of two signatures for every check. He also committed to having Meshoppen Fire Company representatives visit supervisor meetings more frequently to offer updates and field questions and concerns from residents.
In other township business, the board moved to advertise their annual budget prior to the next meeting, which will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 8, one day later than usual due to the township offices serving as a polling location for general elections to be held on Nov. 7.
Auburn Township supervisors Dan Trivett (above, right) and George Gregory (left) look over ambulance coverage maps with Meshoppen Fire Company president Travis Prevost (second from right) and fire chief Chris Carney after the supervisors’ Oct. 3 meeting.