SPENDING BREAKDOWN

• Added costs for blending and sustaining operations of EMS with fire response: $1.7 million.

SOURCE: Boardman Fire Department

BOARDMAN — Township residents are being asked to approve a new levy to support ambulance service through the fire department this election.

Officials know that it’s a big request, but they say they also know it’s an important service for Boardman.

“We’ve been trying to be open and transparent throughout this whole situation,” said township Administrator Jason Loree. “No elected official wants to ask the community for any new money.

In this case, though, the need dictates the plan.”

The 4.5-mill additional levy will generate $6.1 million per year for five years. The owner of a $100,000 home would pay an extra $158 per year.

Loree said the levy is a plan of last resort. The first plan was to build a regional ambulance consortium through Mahoning County.

“We could not get the consensus or the backing,” he said.

Plan B was to form a regional fire district with Canfield. That plan also did not succeed.

“Cardinal (Joint Fire District) seemed to have a similar setup, so we looked at that merger,” Loree said. “People are very open to the concept of regionalization, but when it comes down to it, they don’t want to lose their kingdom and the concept dies.”

Loree said it has been difficult to ensure EMS coverage since most of the 11 ambulance companies that once served Mahoning County have gone out of business, many in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now Lane LifeTrans and EMT still operate, and EMT almost exclusively serves Youngstown.

Loree said Lane is the primary provider in the township and has committed to keeping two ambulance units dedicated to the township as much as possible.

“But that is hard to do, because they need to ensure that their whole system is covered,” he said. “They have to run those ambulances as much as possible because the entire business is based on volume. They cannot make any money on an ambulance that is not transporting or treating someone.”

Loree said Lane’s units usually stay close to state Route 11 and Interstate 680 so they can get to the other communities they serve as quickly as possible.

When Lane’s units are on call in Austintown, Niles or Weathersfield, that leaves Boardman residents waiting a long time for EMT service.

“There’s not a lot we can do because they’re the only company left providing this service,” he said. “They’re doing their absolute best, but there’s a problem finding qualified EMT’s.

It’s intense work, so there is a lot of burnout, and the cost of specialty equipment is extremely high, it’s not what it was five or 10 years ago.”

Loree said it’s also a problem when other communities with levy-supported EMS service provide mutual aid to their neighbors. He said taxpayers may object to their ambulances going to another community.

Last year, Boardman’s fire department bought a new ambulance at Lane’s urging to help ensure better coverage in the township.

Loree said Boardman’s population is about 40,000 people, and its daytime population gets up to 100,000 with shoppers, shop employees, school athletics participants and other visitors.

He said ambulances in Boardman have responded annually to about 4,000 calls per year, and they have experienced a 25% increase in 911 calls since 2014.

“You can’t put all your eggs in one basket and think it’s going to be OK, just relying on the private sector,” he said.

But running their own ambulance poses many of the same problems that Lane’s faces. Fire Chief Mark Pitzer said without levy support, it will become unsustainable.

“If the levy fails, residents in need of emergency medical services are likely to experience continual delays in the arrival of an ambulance and / or in some cases, not have one available at all when needed,” he said. “Furthermore, the current practice of utilizing our existing fire staff to cover our one backup ambulance is not sustainable and would most likely have to be discontinued by the end of 2025.”

Loree said the township has been paying overtime to keep the ambulance operating, but that is not a long-term solution.

With passage of the levy, the township would have three ambulances to serve Boardman residents, one at each of the three fire stations.

The levy money would cover everything from staffing, uniforms, gear, equipment, fuel and ambulance and equipment replacement.

“This is something that will be available for all residents and nonresidents within the township, to hopefully save their lives or get them to the hospital quickly to be stabilized and get them on their way to a speedy recovery,” he said. “The biggest issue for me as a resident, I want to know that there’s a plan for when I call 911, that somebody shows up and they’re close by.