I'll repeat the question: which functions are a permissible use of taxpayer money, without regard to whether or not the cost of those functions increases year to year? If you do not believe saving lives is such a function, what could you possibly believe is a proper function of government money?

IMHO it's not the towns responsibility to provide us with an ambulance service. The ambulance service was a lot more affordable when it was an all volunteer service. The government should just provide the taxpayer with basic services. The taxpayer wants less services and much lower taxes. Every time the government gets involved in a program it costs twice as much as it should and the private sector can provide the service much cheaper.

Quoted from Shadow

All I'm saying is that the expense for running the REMS will result in a big expense for the taxpayer if the town pays for it. Rotterdam is not a large town that will be able to pay the REMS expense with all the other expenses it has to pay without raising taxes every time the expenses go up for the REMS. The cost of the police, town employees, and other expenses the town has to pay increase every year and the result is higher taxes that the resident isn't going to pay for. REMS has got to be able to pay for itself without taxpayer funds.

I agree. Rotterdam needs to shed off the excess baggage of taxes....and rems is one of them. I support rems...as a viable for profit business only! The expense for an ambulance corps is massive. Too expensive for this small town of rotterdam to sustain over a long period of time.

And guess what...unless one is a liberal democrat.....FOR-PROFIT BUSINESSES is not a bad word. It is capitalism!

Quoted from greenlantern

If you do not believe saving lives is such a function, what could you possibly believe is a proper function of government money?

If you believe that the government's role should be saving lives, then you must believe in socialized single payer healthcare, like the one Obama is proposing.  Since you consider saving lives the roll of government.

Much like medicaid, once a service is considered an entitlement it will be abused and riddled with fraud.  People who previously could find other means to get to the hospital for minor or chronic ailments will now not hesitate to call the town ambulance service, and those of us who will never use it in our lifetime will be stuck paying the bill.  If the REMS become publicly funded, and it is considered a town service, I will assure you that the following year the number of calls handled would double.  Meaning that they will need to hire more EMT's and purchase more vehicles, which means taxes will go up to fund it.   It will be a high priced taxi service for the hypochondriac.

Cicero, I take it you also believe the fire department and police department should be privatized?

Police protect residents from other residents. It is part of keeping order in society.  We empower government to make sure peoples personal rights aren't infringed upon.  The fire department prevents a fire that I didn't start from spreading to my home, or destroying a whole city block.  Again, protecting mine and other innocent people's property.  Forcing me to pay for somebody's ambulance ride for their personal ailments, actually infringes upon my rights.  As I am forced to pay for a service I didn't receive.  Government provided ambulance service does nothing to protect my personal rights, or property rights, or any other rights guaranteed by the Constitution.  

1st----what type of ambulance service,,,,BLS or ALS????? THAT does make a difference whether it be cost or life saving.....the average Joe barely knows
what an enema is.....so touting about saving lives with BLS is no different than your neighbor bandaging your cut leg.....

2nd----combine ambulance with fire dept/police dept....why not?

3rd----who pays (susidizes) their trips to Princetown??

4th----ANYONE can give a ride to the hospital. with just BLS it really only equates to expensive lights/gas/stretchers,,,,not that I'm knocking what they
do, but the cost to educate/pay/stock/keep enough ALS WILL COST $$$$$$$.......

5th----politicians shouldn't be using the 'saving lives'/poor kids/poor elderly podium pucks,,,,,it's not tasteful.........

senders, I'd be inclined to agree that it would be a good idea to combine the ambulance with the police or fire department. Either way ALS would still be provided by the municipality. ALS has always been provided by the town through RPD.

The fire departments used to supply ambulance service with advanced life care as they provided EMT's with every call they made and it was an all volunteer service. We had quite a few EMT's that were trained and state certified that provided around the clock service for the town many years ago.

Shadow, it's been many, many years since EMT's were volunteers in the town during the day. Way before the REM's thing, day crews were paid. Paramedics were operated out of the police department and were paid 24/7--yes, with tax dollars. This is nothing new, just reshuffling the cards to make it more efficient.

I know how many years ago it was because I was on the squad for 6 years and it was expensive to operate the ambulance service even then b4 the RPD converted the service to the paid paramedic form of ambulance service. The cost to the taxpayer will keep going up every year due to the cost of state mandates and the cost of medical equipment until it gets to the point where the taxpayer can no longer pay for the service. As Senders says we can't afford ourselves.

When REMS takes a call in Duanesburg.....who pays REMS? Does the duanesburg town taxpayers foot the bill or does the rotterdam town taxpayers?

I know they have a contract with princetown....but what about duanesburg?

Quoted from bumblethru

When REMS takes a call in Duanesburg.....who pays REMS? Does the duanesburg town taxpayers foot the bill or does the rotterdam town taxpayers?

I know they have a contract with princetown....but what about duanesburg?

hopefully it's a private charge....the only part of REMS that should be subsidized should be the ALS training required for anything more than BLS.....

Quoted Text

CAPITAL REGION
EMS care growing more costly
BY KATHY BOWEN Gazette Reporter

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.........>>>>..........
FINANCIAL CONCERNS
    Rotterdam Emergency Medical Services has no volunteers. Board of directors Chairman Joseph VanDerwerker said that’s because the service hired the few they had. “We found it was cheaper to put the volunteers on as part-time or per diem staff than to pay the insurance to keep them as unpaid,” he said. “We had a scheduling nightmare when there were four or five volunteers. Now that they’re paid, they’re satisfied to be put in the rotation.”
    The Rotterdam Town Board is planning a referendum in June to determine whether taxpayers will support a separate tax district for REMS.
    VanDerwerker said it is expected the cost would be 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, or less than $25 a year per household.
    Deputy Town Supervisor Robert Godlewski said the matter will be discussed at the February board meetings.

ALS OR BLS........use the fire depts........they are ALL OVER TOWN.......how rediculous.......THIS YEAR it's $25/1000.....next year, five years from now etc.....what does the National Healthcare/homeland
security grant $$ weigh in on this??????

5years from now 'someone' will save us from these taxes and 'purchase' REMS for song/dance........