Charlemont is getting creative in its drive to keep EMT service alive.
For many months now, the town has been trying to find ways to bolster an ambulance department that has suffered from low enlistment. The resulting inability to reliably respond to medical emergencies consistently has led to state officials threatening to pull the service’s license.
That would leave the far western end of Franklin County relying on Shelburne Falls EMTS or the ambulances in Greenfield. No one is eager for the long delays that might ensue.
How to staff the Charlemont ambulance service enough to meet state regulations has been a complicated issue. After much study, the town’s leaders have come up with several potential fixes, but many of them involve more money — financial incentives for rescue workers to spend the minimum 150 hours required for training and answer calls at all hours of the day or night, for instance.
This is another example of an important service that rural towns are pressed to pay for. It doesn’t help that much of the pressure comes from increasingly stringent state regulations that often feel more appropriate for full-time urban ambulance services than volunteer outfits like Charlemont’s.
But no one wants to cut corners when it comes to the health and safety of their neighbors, so while lobbying for rules changes that would ease the crunch, the selectmen and others in Charlemont keep looking for creative responses.
That has led to the decision to ask voters to approve a 3 percent recreation tax, to be levied on businesses such as Berkshire East, Crab Apple Whitewater Rafting, or Zoar Outdoor for skiing, rafting, zip lines and other outdoor activities.
Selectmen said they have met with the three outdoor adventure companies, which support the measure as a way to generate money for the town to provide ambulance service and police river patrols — both services they know will help their growing businesses run smoothly and safely.
Town officials say they don’t know how much revenue such a tax would generate. It would be collected in the same manner as a sales tax, with the money going quarterly into the general fund. Selectmen said they couldn’t designate it specifically for the ambulance service, but that is their main objective.
While we think it’s unfortunate the town has to exert itself this much to provide what most people today consider a basic but vital municipal service, we’re impressed with the creativity and the gumption of its leaders.
And since it’s backed by the local outdoor recreation businesses most directly affected, we expect townspeople will approve this ensible proposal.
Because there is no recreation tax anywhere else in Massachusetts, the measure, if passed by annual town meeting next week, would have to be approved by the Legislature. We hope our state lawmakers will respect the wishes of Charlemont voters.