The Belfast City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a proposal to significantly increase the amount it charges five surrounding towns for ambulance services.
The city has been charging less than it costs to provide the services for years, Belfast Fire Chief Patrick Richards told the council.
“Obviously, we are not going to continually subsidize other towns,” said Mayor Eric Sanders.
Belfast’s ambulance service covers Belmont, Morrill, Northport, Swanville and Waldo.
Under the proposed rates, the city’s revenue from those contracts would nearly quadruple over two years to $280,828 in the 2027/28 fiscal year.
The city sent letters to the five towns informing them of the proposed rate change in early February.
Vicki Eugley, Northport’s finance director, acknowledged in an interview that the increase is significant. The town is paying Belfast around $23,000 for ambulance services in the current fiscal year, according to figures provided by the city of Belfast. Under the new proposal, that number would increase to just over $45,000 next fiscal year for and total $90,000 the year after.
Still, Eugley said the increase was not a surprise. “We’ve been getting a really good deal for many, many years,” she said. “I think this is fair.”
Kim Weaver, a member of the Waldo Select Board said the rate increase was of concern, particularly because her town has many senior citizens living on social security income.
Waldo paid around $10,000 for ambulance services in the current fiscal year. Under the new fee schedule, the town will see that number quadruple in the 2027/28 fiscal year.
“Any kind of increase is going to make us have to think long and hard,” Weaver said.
The number of emergency ambulance calls has gone up 38% over the last decade, according to a report from City manager Erin Herbig. In 2025 Belfast’s ambulance service responded to 2,558 calls.
The new rates are based on the actual per-call cost, which was about $500 last year.