EMS Presents Flat Budget, Employee Retention An Issue

Amherst EMS is expecting no increase in their budget for the next fiscal year.

EMS director Brian Gleason presented his department’s proposed budget to the Board of Selectmen on Monday.

The only increases in his budget include part-time wages, Medicare, social security and a possible rise in fuel costs. Gleason said that this is offset by savings from the fuel efficiency of their newest ambulance vehicle that he purchased last year. Training costs have also been reduced in his budget.

While there is good news for his department when it comes to the budget, employee retention is still a challenge. 

“The biggest challenge is to keep staff, but we do it each year,” said Gleason. “We have had some vacancies the past couple of months though.”

Nearby towns offer better wages for EMS employees, and Gleason said he is looking to compete with a wage step scale in order to recruit, retain and reward experienced staff. 

The following is an approximate compensation comparision between Amherst and surrounding communities:

As an educator in the medical field, many of his employees are former students come from outside of town. Many Amherst residents work elsewhere and are unable to commit to the time requirements.

There are currently 35 per diem members at Amherst EMS.

“The biggest challenge is getting folks who live in the community to help out,” said Gleason. Four new employees were hired to Amherst EMS at the meeting on Monday.

The EMS department has also been trying to train fire department personnel to provide medical services, an effort that is not reaching Gleason’s expectations so far. He said he is holding off on this effort for the time being.

“The culture of the two departments is not where it needs to be right now,” said Gleason.

Amherst EMS is also planning on asking voters to use capital reserve funds to replace the 2001 Ford F150 ambulance vehicle.

Gleason said that his focus continues to be providing quality service with a reasonable budget. The cost for the average Amherst resident is $21.28 per year for 24/7 primary ambulance paramedic service.