LINCOLN – Fire Chief William Lee on Monday night introduced an ambulance service proposal that could generate revenue for the town’s Fire Department and expand services in the community.

The proposal focused on the town acquiring an ambulance and using existing staff to provide medical transports to or from a medical facility, Lee told the council. The service wouldn’t replace the service now operated by Penobscot Valley Hospital for in-town emergency calls, he said.

In 2002, private and municipal ambulance services transferred more than 400 patients from PVH to other hospitals or locations, Lee said. By providing medical transports, the town could tap into that revenue stream and offset the Fire Department’s budget, he said.

As proposed, an intermediate level of service carries a $201,000 startup cost, which includes the entire $50,000 for purchasing a used ambulance, as well as payroll, insurance, training, gas and maintenance. Based on the number of transports in town, the service could generate roughly $196,000 in revenue, so the first year could operate at a loss.

With the capital expense taken care of the first year, the service could generate a net gain of around $45,000 during the second year.

And while the focus would be on medical transports, the ambulance service also could cover for PVH if the hospital’s ambulance service was tied up with other calls, Lee said. Those calls also would generate revenues, he said.

Councilor John Weatherbee expressed concern that a used ambulance likely would have a lot of wear from “hard miles.” He also asked about how Lee expected to store the vehicle in the public safety building shared by the police and fire departments.

“I can squeeze [another vehicle] in there with some juggling,” Lee said. “I would definitely have to work with police on that.”

Councilor Jim Libby believed Lee had a good concept, noting that some community members may feel the recent mill closure makes the proposal untimely.

“I see this as a way to reduce your budget,” Libby said.

Lee said he expected the proposed service could be operated by existing full-time and on-call firefighters and training for the service would likely take around six months. Billing could be contracted to another department so the town wouldn’t have to hire an additional employee, he said.

The council took no action on the matter. Lee said after the meeting that he would further discuss the proposal with Town Manager Glenn Aho and continue researching the topic.

In other items, the council approved amendments to the town’s tire disposal fee. The fee for disposing of a tire for a passenger car, a sport utility vehicle or a light truck was changed from $3 to $1. A waiver of tire fees also was established for vehicles on which residents pay excise tax to the town. One-year vouchers shall be issued for the number of tires on the excised vehicle. As part of an emergency motion, both changes are effective today as opposed to the usual 30 days from a vote.

In a related motion, the council authorized a refund of tire disposal fees paid by individuals who qualified for a waiver under the amended ordinance.