DEERFIELD — Regardless of whether South County Emergency Medical Service moves out of South Deerfield, the three towns it serves will still have to pay for the medical services they receive.
That means Deerfield’s proposed contribution is $314,656 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, according to Article 11 on the warrant for this year’s annual Town Meeting scheduled for Monday.
The emergency medical service also serves Whately and Sunderland.
Chief Zachary Smith, the service’s director, said the medical service’s budget for the year beginning July 1 will be $1,077,299 if the three towns adopt their proposed share. He said the majority of the budget goes toward personnel costs, including salaries and benefits. A smaller portion, he said, goes to equipment, repairs, rent and other bills.
The service, which began in July 2014, is currently based at the South Deerfield Fire District, where it pays $18,000 in rent per year. It would go up to about $36,000 on July 1, if the service stays in that building. At that time, the service would pay $50,287 in rent across three locations.
Smith said there is an ambulance at the South Deerfield Fire District, the Sunderland Fire Department and the Whately Fire Department. His office is in Deerfield Town Hall.
The service seeks to consolidate those sites into one location at Whately’s new town offices. However, it is meeting some resistance from residents who do not want the emergency medical service to move out of Deerfield.