COLUMBUS – The debate over the creation of an ambulance district in Columbus and New Berlin became heated during a public hearing in Columbus last week.

Wednesday night’s meeting began with a presentation by Albany attorney Terry Hannigan, outlining the process and positive points to creating an ambulance district. Hannigan has been employed by both the Town of Columbus and the Town of New Berlin separately to determine the best way to put together an ambulance district.

Hannigan explained to everyone attending the hearing that the creation of an ambulance district would benefit each community involved by creating a line item on the yearly budget that could be monitored and adjusted, and would add a level of accountability as it would answer to all three of the municipalities.

Currently, an ambulance service is run by the village of New Berlin and provides service to the village and town as well as Columbus.

Under the new ambulance district, the village and town of New Berlin would be included in one district while all of Columbus would included in another. Together, the two districts would have equal say in the overall tax district and would be organized by a not-for-profit ambulance company.

In terms of cost, Hannigan explained an initial estimate had Columbus residents paying a tax rate of .319 per thousand and New Berlin paying .358 per thousand.

Members of the community voiced concern about the other municipalities pulling out of the agreement and leaving Columbus holding the bill.