Forward Township tries new approach to EMS problems
FORWARD TWP — Township supervisors took a new course of action in combating the mounting problems facing emergency medical services in the state.
At their meeting Tuesday night, Nov. 14, the board of supervisors gave preliminary approval to a plan to allocate all funds from the local services tax in its 2024 budget to create a grant program. This would provide a short-term funding boost for the three EMS providers serving the township — Quality EMS, Harmony EMS and Butler Ambulance Service.
The plan was the brainchild of township supervisor Mark Wilson, who came up with the idea after a special public meeting on Oct. 18 to discuss ways to combat the problems faced by EMS.
No motion was made to formally approve the plan at Tuesday night’s meeting, but it is expected to happen when the township formally approves its 2024 budget at its budget-setting meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
“It’s going to become a line item in the budget,” said fellow township supervisor Mel Musulin. “It doesn’t become a done deal until we approve the budget.”
Ordinarily, according to Wilson, the township uses its collections from the Local Service Tax to make its annual donations to fire companies and other emergency service providers.
As he presented his proposal, Wilson made clear he wanted the bulk of the money from this grant to go toward providing better salaries and benefits for those on the front lines, such as paramedics.
“I want it specifically for the line workers. I want the people in the ambulances to get it,” Wilson said. “I don’t want to go into administrators’ salary.”
Before Tuesday night’s meeting, the most-discussed idea involved the township paying a “subscription fee” for every household in Forward. However, according to Musulin, that idea has been taken off the table due to lack of support.
One minor complication is that Butler Ambulance Service is a for-profit EMS service, while the other two are nonprofits. This means Butler would not be able to benefit from a grant. However, Butler might still be able to benefit from the tax funds through a contractual agreement.
Wilson and Musulin both said the local services tax proposal was a short-term plan to address the issues with EMS for the coming year, and a longer-term solution was still to come.
However, Musulin was adamant that Forward Township be a leader, not a follower, in coming up with a way to solve Pennsylvania’s growing emergency medical services crisis.
“We’re not Backward Township, we’re Forward Township,” Musulin said. “Let’s move forward.”
