Lisbon Emergency warns reduced funding could threaten ambulance coverage
Lisbon Emergency warned it cannot keep operating under the cut budget, leaving ambulance coverage for Lisbon and neighboring towns in limbo until a July fix is possible.
Lisbon Emergency leaders warned town officials that the service cannot continue under the reduced funding plan the council approved last month, putting ambulance coverage for Lisbon, Bowdoin and Bowdoinham in a precarious holding pattern until the new budget takes effect in July. The dispute is no longer just about dollars on a worksheet. It now goes to whether the region’s primary ambulance provider can maintain staffing and response coverage without the full support it requested.
Lisbon’s council trimmed roughly $65,000 from Lisbon Emergency’s request when it approved the 2027 town budget, even though the department had asked for $565,636.30, a 3.99% increase over the prior year’s $543,953.62 allocation. Budget materials from the town show the contribution had already climbed from $334,627 in FY24 to $532,974.31 in FY25 and $543,953.62 in FY26, underscoring how sharply the service has grown into a major line item. Lisbon Emergency leaders said the reduced amount is not workable, while town attorney guidance means the council cannot simply reverse the cut until the budget is in force.
Council chair Chris Camire said the attorney confirmed the charter gives the town only limited ways to amend an approved budget once it takes effect. Those options include using excess revenue, reducing another appropriation if revenue falls short, or making an emergency appropriation tied to life, health, property or public peace. Some councilors who voted for the cut have since expressed remorse, while others want a clearer read on the legal tools before taking the next step.
The stakes reach well beyond the town office. Lisbon Emergency serves about 16,000 people across roughly 105 square miles and provides not only emergency ambulance response but also standby coverage at fire scenes, parades and sporting events. Maine EMS documents say the service has three licensed ambulances and one licensed EMS vehicle, is licensed at the EMT level and permitted to Paramedic. The town and the service have also been exploring a trial arrangement that would fold Lisbon Fire Department personnel and a Lisbon Fire Department vehicle into operations if the ambulance service were unavailable.
For now, Town Manager Sarah Bennett said staff should know more about revenue projections in a couple of weeks, which could determine whether the council can restore the cut with excess revenue or must look for offsets elsewhere in the budget. The argument is unfolding against a longer backdrop of budget upheaval in Lisbon, where voters rejected the school budget 724-312 last year and the town has already weathered recalls, resignations and a $2 million clerical revenue error. That history has made the EMS fight especially charged, because residents are now weighing not just cost, but whether their ambulance service can stay stable enough to answer the next call.
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