Holland Select Board Hears Proposal to Move Ambulance Service Under Municipal Control

HOLLAND — October 16, 2018 — Holland Select Board hears pitch to shift three-town ambulance from nonprofit to municipal governance. Brimfield Fire Chief Brendan McCarthy and Monson Fire Chief Lori McDonald told the board at its October 16 meeting that Brimfield Ambulance Service faced a payroll shortfall in July that required a draw from a depleted savings account, prompting a proposal to fold the service into the Brimfield Fire Department under a contractual agreement with Holland, Brimfield, and Wales. McDonald, whose Monson department funds roughly 70 percent of its budget through ambulance revenues, described the shift as "a change in governance" rather than a cost-cutting move, noting that municipal services can access Assistance to Firefighters grants unavailable to nonprofits. Four full-time positions would carry an estimated $36,000 annual benefit package; no town meeting date was set. The board separately approved a Pioneer Valley Planning Commission contract to spend a $15,000 MassHousing grant on a housing production plan and renewed a $4,500 Cultural Council state grant contract.