Montgomery County volunteer firefighters said Tuesday they will pursue a ballot referendum to overturn any effort to charge ambulance transportation fees in Montgomery County, should council members approve a proposed change to local policy.
Last spring, County Executive Ike Leggett recommended charging fees ranging from $300 to $800 per ambulance trip, plus $7.50 per mile traveled.
Leggett’s staff maintains the bills for transporting residents would go directly to insurance companies and no person who lives in Montgomery County would ever be charged for service. People who live outside the jurisdiction, however, would be billed for ambulance use.
“We believe people will hesitate to call,” said Eric Bernard, executive director of the Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. “This is an issue of public safety. This is an issue of potential lives lost versus potential increases in revenues.”
Leggett’s spokesman Patrick Lacefield said Montgomery County is “leaving money on the table,” by not charging ambulance fees when Fairfax County, Prince George’s County and the District all do so already.
“Montgomery County is almost alone among jurisdictions in the region in not charging these fees,” Lacefield said. “We have identified a way to strengthen our fire and rescue system, with no additional cost to county residents. We have two choices, either to not meet some of the demands that fire and rescue has or to raise taxes. The county executive does not want to raise taxes.”
Lacefield said county leaders estimate the fee would generate $12.5 million in the first year alone.
Council Vice President Phil Andrews has been a vocal opponent of the fees since Leggett first floated them, but on Tuesday Councilman Roger Berliner also pledged to vote against them, saying in a written statement that he respected the will of volunteer firefighters.
If the council approves the fees, Bernard says the county’s 1,500 volunteer firefighters will have no problems obtaining the requisite 27,000 or so signatures to force a ballot vote on the issue. He rejected speculation from some county leaders that volunteer firefighters worry charging ambulance fees would make it tougher for them to collect donations.
“This fight is not about money, it is about ensuring people get services,” Bernard said. “Our esprit de corps, our morale, would be hurt by the county trying to make money off the work we do as volunteers.”
