ST. ALBANS – The Hartland-St. Albans Ambulance Service could be doomed without additional taxpayer support, according to St. Albans selectmen.

The three selectmen are part of an eight-member board of directors of the two-town ambulance service.

On Saturday, at their respective town meetings, voters in both towns will grapple with an additional $40,000 in funding for the ambulance service, divided between Hartland and St. Albans. Voters annually subsidize the service on a per-capita basis – $800 for St. Albans and $1,200 for Hartland. This year, however, each town is being asked to add approximately $20,000 to the subsidy in an effort to make the service self-sufficient in future years.

After reviewing a study of the service by a specialist in emergency services, Hartland-St. Albans ambulance directors decided to add one full-time employee to the all-volunteer service in the form of a paramedic director.

“Of the options we were given, this is the only one that has a chance of working and turning around the ambulance service,” said Jim Bullock, chairman of the ambulance directors. “This service should be self-supporting.”

With a full-time director added, the directors hope to bring more organization to the service with a focus on leadership, training, and membership.

“We’re down to eight members or less,” said St. Albans selectman Larry Emery. “There are calls when no one responds. We need to reinvigorate the service.”

The additional funding from the taxpayers is temporary, the board emphasized. Bringing on a full-time staff member also should address billing and collections and bring in anticipated revenue to eventually offset the additional cost.

“You can’t survive any longer on an all-volunteer service,” Emery said. “It has to be a mix.”

The director’s position is estimated at about $40,000 per year, including benefits. The actual salary will hinge on the person hired and negotiations.

In St. Albans, voters are being asked for the traditional $800 subsidy along with $20,800 for the new director’s position.

The service currently misses nearly 25 percent of its calls because of a lack of volunteers and coordination of schedules. A major deficiency is a lack of drivers, especially during the day. With a director, the board hopes to address the staffing problems and recoup the lost calls, along with the lost revenue.

“We need to front-load an investment in the service to enable them to get on their feet,” Emery said. “The alternative is to close the doors.”