HERMON – Councilors on Thursday night rejected a contract proposal by Hermon Volunteer Rescue & First Aid Squad Inc., then increased the town’s annual stipend to the organization.

After years of discussion, Hermon Rescue presented councilors with a more than $230,000 contract proposal for 24-hour on-call rescue services. But councilors questioned the need for such a contract when the services are essentially provided already by a volunteer squad that costs taxpayers about $200,000 less.

Once the 4-3 vote against the contract was complete, councilors approved increasing the private group’s social service annual town stipend to $35,000.

Steve Watson, chairman of Hermon Rescue’s board of directors, said after the meeting that he did not expect councilors to immediately approve the contract. He said he did, however, hope the councilors would put the contracted amount in the budget and then have residents vote on the line item at the annual town meeting.

“I am very disappointed that taxpayers in the town of Hermon will not be given the opportunity to make [this] decision for themselves,” Watson said after the meeting.

Hermon Rescue is a private nonprofit and separate entity from the town of Hermon. The organization’s 2007-08 budget is cost-neutral, showing $106,800 for revenues and expenditures. The town gave the squad a $13,500 stipend last year, according to Alden Brown, council chairman. The rest of the rescue squad’s budget is covered by user fees and through fund raising.

Last spring, councilors asked the rescue squad for a 24-hour emergency medical coverage proposal by November 2007.

In November, Watson presented two proposals. One was a call-out contracted service for $234,220, the other, a contract for between $350,000 and $436,800 that would employ more than eight full-time rescue workers.

On Thursday, the council entertained a motion by Councilor Ralph Carr to implement the call-out contracted service, which would include two positions for councilors on the organization’s seven member board of directors. Carr, Donald Shepley and Anthony Reynolds voted in favor of the contract, while Larry Davis, Tim McCluskey, Sharon Nickerson and Brown voted against.

In the second motion, to increase the annual stipend to $35,000, the councilors voted unanimously in favor.

Before the votes took place, Brown weighed the pros and cons of the status quo and a rescue contract. He said he felt the contract proposal was financially irresponsible, since Hermon Rescue would provide the service, despite town funding. If the contract were put in place, it would cost taxpayers an additional $68 annually for a home valued at $150,000, he said.

Brown then presented his own plan where rescue members would be paid the same as town firefighters for both calls and training, as long as they become town employees. Despite the presentation, no motions were made to enact his plan.

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