York voters may be asked to bail ambulance service out of financial crisis with $500K
The York Ambulance Association’s worsening financial crisis could cost the town of York nearly triple what was expected.
Now, the Select Board may decide to ask voters to approve a special budget referendum in November to bail out the nonprofit service, which is in its last year of a three-year contract with the town.
The independent EMS service asked in June for $180,000 in additional funding — on top of the town’s planned contribution of $150,000 — to help recover a deficit.
Related
York Ambulance doubles funding request from town amid financial strain
In a document presented at an Aug. 10 Select Board meeting, York Finance Director Wendy Anderson wrote that the service would run out of cash by the end of November, and that its actual deficit is closer to $264,000.
With adjustments to payroll, fuel and phone budgets, and legal contingencies, the new request skyrocketed to $350,000 before the board could give York Ambulance an answer to its original request.
Including the amount already baked into the town budget, York could now be on the hook for $500,000.
Advertisement
UNCLEAR BUDGET SCARS RELATIONSHIP
On top of an unclear cashflow, several debts owed by the service — and an apparent lack of transparency — have made the Select Board apprehensive about a continued relationship.
“It just seems like any given day, this board is given different information,” board member Mary-Anne Szeniawski told York Ambulance officials Monday. “I’m feeling like you’re not trustworthy. You’re not giving us all the information.”
York Ambulance Treasurer Armen Derderian told the board that every number presented prior to the Monday meeting was just an estimate. Items like revenue and phone bills are hard to pin down, he said, and officials couldn’t have predicted how much those numbers would change.
When Select Board members asked what the nonprofit’s budget showed at the start of its fiscal year compared to its actual spending data, Derderian responded, “We didn’t do a budget.”
He added that the last time the service presented a budget was likely years ago, which Select Board Chair Todd Frederick called “embarrassing.”
The Small Business Administration sent York Ambulance a collections notice on July 10 for the full amount of its outstanding loan balance, which is now $190,000, Derderian said. The nonprofit made a small payment on July 14 to try to change the status of the delinquent account, but the SBA has made no adjustments, further worrying town officials.
Advertisement
“You didn’t create a cashflow forecast until we asked at a previous meeting,” Vice Chair Marla Johnson told officials after they referred to the financial review Anderson presented.
The York Ambulance board of trustees has a monthly meeting where it reviews expenses, Derderian said. When the cashflow issues became clear, officials tried course-correcting by “changing things around,” he said, but that didn’t work.
Select Board members were told in February that the ambulance service had no financial issues and would be able to fulfill the rest of its contract with the town. But three months later, the nonprofit doubled its funding request, prompting criticism from the board for not bringing the issues to its attention sooner.
REFERENDUM PROPOSALS
If voters approve the request, funding would come from the town’s unassigned balance.
Johnson, the vice chair, said the town does have sufficient funds in the unassigned balance to foot the $350,000 bill, so it wouldn’t require a tax hike, merely a deployment of tax dollars previously paid by residents.
Even so, she’s not comfortable allocating that much of the balance to the service because of how drastically information has changed since the board became aware of its financial crisis.
Advertisement
The language on the ballot needs to be very flexible to provide the town with options in November, town officials agreed.
One option would be to simply finish out the town’s current contract with York Ambulance, and then transition to an in-house operation. But that would cost more than the $500,000 total the service is requesting.
Select Board member Robert Palmer suggested letting voters decide whether to raise the unassigned fund balance contribution from $350,000 to $500,000, with a maximum of $300,000 going to York Ambulance. That would come with a contingency requiring the nonprofit to meet a set of conditions established by the town. Then, the town would make monthly payments to the service through the end of the contract.
If York Ambulance can’t meet those conditions, the town would instead use the remainder of the unassigned fund money to transition to an in-house ambulance system.
Johnson said if that question goes before voters, there should be language that gives the town sole discretion over cash advances to the nonprofit, and that committing to monthly payments is risky.
Select Board member Marilyn McLaughlin agreed and said the town hasn’t done enough research into what an in-house ambulance service would cost.
With flexible language, though, the board agreed it is a helpful “plan B” suggestion. Joseph also said officials should calculate exactly how much it would cost to buy ambulances.
Members voted 5-0 to pass the $500,000 question along to the budget committee for review but will have one more meeting on Aug. 24 to finalize the language. After a meeting and public hearing Aug. 25, the budget committee will vote to approve — which could come with amendments — or reject the warrant.
If approved, the Select Board will need to hold one more meeting, likely in early September, to secure a spot for the warrant on November’s ballot.
Copy the Story Link
Tagged: election 2026, EMS
Isabelle Oss is a community reporter covering Kittery, Berwick, North Berwick, South Berwick, York and Ogunquit. Born and raised in Colorado, she moved to Maine in April 2026. Isabelle holds a master’s. More by Isabelle Oss
