NORWICH – Town ambulance and fire contract rates were the biggest issue on the agenda at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Norwich Common Council.

The issue, which was discussed at the January Finance and Personnel Committee meeting, is that a five-year contract between the city and surrounding towns for ambulance and fire service expired in December. Committee members had expressed concern with the fee structure charged to the towns for the services.

“We wanted to confirm the dollar amount, going forward over the next five years, would be adequate,” said City Finance Director Bill Roberts. In addition to the fixed costs associated with the services, the city also has to take the rising costs of labor, benefits, energy and fuel into consideration. Roberts said that after some preliminary calculations, put together by Mayor Joseph Maiurano and Council President Terry Bresina, the city seems to be breaking even.

In addition, Roberts pointed out that because the initial contracts had already been received by the towns, public meetings had already been held and tax rates for those fire districts had already been implemented. “It would make it complex to change things now,” Roberts said.

Ward 4 Alderman Walter Schermerhorn said he would like to see the numbers before any decision was reached.

Ward 6 Alderman Robert Jeffrey agreed, explaining that in 2006 the city’s actual budget for emergency services was $1.88 million and the budget was estimated at approximately $1.7 million. The higher cost was due to an increase in overtime for the emergency squad, which totaled over $100,000. Jeffrey also noted other costs that may not have been necessary if not for the services provided to the towns. “We purchased an ambulance and the tanker truck. Do you need three ambulances if you don’t have the extra territory?” he asked. Jeffrey continued by saying that while the cost to the city was $1.8 million, the charges for the townships is significantly less. “Are we actually making money if we’re looking at last year’s numbers?” he asked.

Council members were apparently unaware of Tuesday’s announcement that Superior Ambulance Service will be cutting two-thirds of its operation in Chenango County (see today’s top story).