AUBURN — A city ambulance service is back on the table, according to a slim City Council majority.

Councilors Tizz Crowley, Mary LaFontaine, Leroy Walker and Belinda Gerry directed city staff to work toward buying ambulances that would let the city’s Fire Department transport patients — and bill insurance companies for the trip.

Councilors David Young, Robert Hayes and Adam Lee said they favored a renewed contract with United Ambulance Service.

“There is not enough information for me to say we should spend $1 million and start an ambulance service,” Young said.

City Manager Clinton Deschene said he’ll present a formal plan to councilors at a regular meeting for a final vote.

The city sends EMT-trained fire personnel in a rescue vehicle to most emergencies. City EMTs typically respond faster than United Ambulance, according to the report and are able to stabilize patients and hand them off to United for transport.

According to a contract that expired in January, United Ambulance pays the city a $100,000 annual fee to provide the service. The city doesn’t get any other financial gain from the situation, since insurance companies don’t reimburse for emergency response — just transport.

According to a Fire Department report in August, the city would be able to bill MaineCare, Medicare and private medical insurance for more than $1.5 million annually for emergency transport and another $58,000 from patients paying their own medical costs.

The service would cost the city up $1.05 million annually, according to that August report. That would give the city up to $362,000 in new net revenue.

It’s all about response time, fire Chief Frank Roma said.

“Very often, people call for an ambulance because they need to get to the hospital,” Roma said. “But for most of those calls, the critical moment is the time between the call and when care begins. That’s where fire departments are in a unique position. We are the most decentralized part of city government. We have fire departments in all parts of the community that allow us to respond in a timely fashion and that is what saves lives.”

The Fire Department’s plan called for purchasing two new ambulances that would be put in service, one at the Center Street station near Shaw’s supermarket and a second at Minot Avenue’s Central Fire Station at a cost of up to $466,218, according to the August report.

United Ambulance made a counteroffer, based on a March 25 letter. It called for ending the $100,000 payment. Instead, the company would dedicate an ambulance to the southern part of the city, staffing it with either a fully trained paramedic or an emergency medical technician. The rest of the city would continue to be served by United vehicles based in Lewiston.

LaBonte said he was concerned about further negotiations with United.

“The first thing, when there were questions about Auburn getting into this business, I was told there would be an aggressive marketing campaign to promote people using the seven digit number instead of 911,” LaBonte said. “That tells me a couple of things. It makes me question people’s commitment to public safety. And number two, it tells me there is a lot of money being made. So if we are going to go and have a conversation with United, there better be maximum transparency. We better see every profit and loss and where they are making money.”

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