With North East’s EMS contract ending, looming issue is cost

MILLERTON — The Town of North East discussed the five-year contract EMS provider NDP Emergency Medical Services which ends in January, at a Town Board meeting on Thursday, July 11.

The EMS service has a three-town contract with the towns of North East, Amenia and Dover. The community is searching for providers willing to station ambulances for fewer than one emergency call per day as the contract is coming to an end.

“I met with the supervisors of Amenia and Dover and we all met with the representative of Empress,” said Chris Kennan, the Town of North East’s supervisor. “Empress is another ambulance provider. They operate in the southern and southwestern part of the county, basically Poughkeepsie on down.”

Kennan said Empress is larger than NPD, contracting with East Fishkill, Fishkill, Wappingers, Lagrange and more communities in the Hudson Valley. Empress is a union shop. The town will not know the specific costs of services until it is out to bid.

“We are bracing ourselves for a significant increase,” Kennan said.

“It’s important that we anticipate this as far ahead as possible, which is what we are doing and I will report back in August. I anticipate knowing a lot more … Any and all thoughts are welcomed because this is a huge item on our budget. It is more than ten percent of the town’s budget.”