The North Fork Ambulance Association is facing a large budget deficit.
The association has been operating in Delta County for 46 years.
"We are the only emergency response in the valley for medical," Kathy Steckel, the organization's executive director, says. "The next closest emergency medical comes out of Delta."
The nonprofit has five employees and about 50 volunteer emergency responders.
"It takes one driver and one EMT to respond to a call," Steckel says. "We have three stations to cover. And, we cover these stations 24/7."
The organization has stations in Paonia, Crawford and Hotchkiss. It provides emergency response services to a 1,500-square-mile area.
"In terms of emergency medical services we have to have an ambulance."
It’s funded by paid memberships, grants from the state, donations and charging non-members for rides.
Steckel says that funding model isn’t working anymore.
"In the last year or two, we have seen that we are starting to operate in the red," she says. "And I think this is mostly because the costs are increasing."
The association’s expenses have risen in recent years.
This year the organization’s operating budget is close to half a million dollars, an increase of nearly 70 percent since 2011.
It’s also been running a deficit for the past three years, from about $3,000, to nearly $40,000, to now more than $190,000 dollars in loss.
Steckel says one of the biggest expenses is payroll.
"We pay our volunteers an on-call stipend," she says. "It used to a $1.50 an hour. And now we’ve raised that recently to attract the volunteers to give up more of their time to cover those on call shifts."
Volunteers now make anywhere from $2.00 an hour to $4.25 hour based on their level of certification.
Steckel also says the cost of training an EMT has doubled in the past ten years.
She says insurance, payroll tax and equipment costs continue to climb as well.
Kirby Clock, an EMT-paramedic, has been volunteering for the North Fork Ambulance Association for 23 years. He’s also a paid paramedic for Delta County and a volunteer firefighter.
"In terms of emergency medical services we have to have an ambulance," Clock says. "I think its part of the social responsibly of a community to have an EMS service."
The association has about 1,800 members in area with a population of about 7,000. Steckel says a majority its members are senior citizens.
"Up until the last couple of years the membership and non-members transport fees funded our organization," she says.
It costs a typical household $60 dollars a year for a membership. And if someone in that household ends up calling 911, their ride is free and the association won’t bill their insurance for services.
For non-members a ride costs about $1,200. That figure doesn’t include how much insurance might cover.
Paonia resident Noropa Sabine isn’t a member.
"Mostly... I’m not really aware of what [the organization] offers," Sabine says. "It just really never crossed my mind."
Steckel says she’s seen membership stay at the same level for nearly 20 years.
"I think somewhat it is an informational issue," she says. "People just don’t know that the ambulance here is membership based and that their dollars to buy a membership allows us to function."
She says the association has enough money in reserves to handle this year’s deficit, but it needs help planning for the future.
That’s why it’s hosting a series of public meetings in the coming months to gather ideas from the community on what to do about its budget problems.
Steckel says possible solutions include raising membership fees, billing members’ insurance for services and fundraising.
The association’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 26th at 7 p.m. at Paonia High School.
