A consultant for the proposed Alle-Kiski Emergency Service Authority said the tentative cost for property owners would be comparable to a monthly Netflix subscription or two cups of Dunkin coffee.

The plan to create a paid authority by merging Eureka Community Ambulance in Tarentum and Citizens Hose EMS in Harrison is expected to be underway by late fall, officials said Thursday during a public information session at Highlands High School.

Member municipalities — Brackenridge, Harrison and Tarentum — would share costs.

As proposed, each household would pay about $85 a year, or about $7 a month. Renters would not be charged, but property owners could opt to pass the fee on.

Final costs have yet to be determined.

About 100 people attended the meeting for a first glimpse of the plan, which is expected to alleviate financial and staffing struggles for local EMS.

A paid authority will support recruitment, enable faster response times, and provide transparency and joint planning for future viability, consultant Rob Brady said.

Eric Schmidt, Shaler Hampton EMS chief and chair of Allegheny County EMS chiefs, described the dire circumstances that responders face: declining subscriptions, revenue shortfalls, soaring costs, staffing challenges and limited resources.

He debunked misconceptions that EMS is fully reimbursed by insurance carriers. They pay only 40% to 60% of costs, Schmidt said.

On a $507 call, an ambulance service is paid about $392 in insurance reimbursements, he said.

“We have to be ready 24/7,” Schmidt said. “When that ambulance arrives, they bring equipment, education and hundreds of hours of training.”

The cost of readiness for Citizens and Eureka is about $2.4 million, but that doesn’t account for vehicle replacement and other items.

Citizens Chief Jim Erb said his most reliable ambulance is 12 years old and has 240,000 miles on it.

Eureka Chief Brad James said an ambulance purchased in 2020 cost $236,000. That same vehicle this year is priced at $326,000.

The pair said less than 25% of the homes in the coverage area contribute to subscription drives, meaning three out of four homeowners toss the solicitation in the garbage.

The lack of municipal, state and federal funding causes a strain that’s exacerbated by the rising cost of health care.

An ambulance and stretcher system in 2021 cost about $254,000, Schmidt said. Today, it’s about $392,000, an increase of 54%.

The authority is also expected to help with job recruitment and retention, which is a problem facing ambulance services across the country.

Staffing shortages are attributed largely to low pay and demanding hours.

An EMT starts out at about $39,000 and after five years earns about $44,000, Schmidt said.

“There were 41,560 certified personnel in Pennsylvania in 2021 and only 17,000 of them appeared on a patient care report, so that’s the real number we’re working with,” Schmidt said.

The total is down from more than 300,000 in the 1980s.

Fawn resident Phil Smozski questioned the flat fee across all member communities. He said Fawn has about 100 emergency calls a year, compared to thousands in other municipalities.

He asked if residents could pay per trip.

Brady said the fee pays for readiness, for the ambulances to be staffed and on standby at all hours no matter the number of calls.

Fawn officials were invited to join the authority but have said they are waiting for final costs before considering whether to accept.

Another audience member questioned how the fee would be paid for Allegheny County Housing Authority properties like the Harrison Hi-Rise and multiple low-income apartment complexes.

“We have an exorbitant amount of low-income housing,” she said. “Is the housing authority going to pay for every unit?”

Tarentum Borough Manager Dwight Boddorf said he’s discussed the proposal with the county and the answer is yes, the county agency would be responsible for the fee.

“This is like a water or sewer authority,” he said. “They won’t really have a choice.”

Carrie Fox, incoming Tarentum councilwoman, asked what the probability is of collecting the fee from property owners. She was curious to know if the fees could be attached to a utility bill to ensure better compliance.

“We need to guarantee the money will be paid,” she said. “I don’t understand how you are going to enforce the collection.”

Invoices will be mailed to property owners and late fees may be applied, Brady said. The authority would have the right to file a municipal lien against properties with severe delinquencies.

The authority will be governed by a board of directors composed of two elected people from each municipality and one representative from each EMS agency.

The door will be open for surrounding communities to join in the future.

Brackenridge Mayor Lindsay Fraser said moving forward with the authority “is the ethical thing to do, to make sure someone shows up when you need them.”

Added Fraser: “We need to make sure they are well-compensated and have the equipment they need.”

Jim Gezo of Harrison said the authority is long overdue.

“It’s the culmination of the aging community,” he said. “We need to do something now.”

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