Officials Explore Regional EMS Funding Fix at Joint Yorktown-Cortlandt Roundtable

Elected leaders, emergency responders and county officials convened Monday night at Cortlandt Town Hall for a joint roundtable on the future of emergency medical services, wrestling with how to stabilize a system increasingly strained by rising costs, dwindling volunteers and flat state support.

The EMS Funding Strategy Meeting brought together representatives from Yorktown, Cortlandt, Mohegan Volunteer Fire Association, Yorktown’s volunteer ambulance corps, Peekskill EMS, and Ossining Volunteer Ambulance Corps, along with Westchester County’s Department of Emergency Services.

Participants agreed the current patchwork of volunteer-based agencies, supplemented by paid staff and uneven municipal contributions, is reaching a breaking point. The core concern was how to ensure reliable Basic Life Support ambulance coverage as call volumes climb and volunteerism declines.

Supervisor Ed Lachterman said Yorktown is determined to confront the challenge before it becomes a crisis.

“We’re trying to lead from the front on what has become a statewide societal issue for volunteer public safety corps,” he said. “Yorktown’s first obligation is to keep our residents safe. That will be the guiding principle in any decision our Town Board makes on EMS.”

Yorktown currently has two volunteer districts, one shared with Cortlandt, and both rely on a hybrid of paid and volunteer staffing — a model many speakers said is the future across New York.

Officials spent much of the evening examining regional models, particularly the Ossining ambulance district, which assesses an average of about $96 per household per year to guarantee 24/7 staffed ambulances. Ossining EMS leaders described how a stable tax-based funding stream, paired with revenue recovery from insurance billing, pulled their corps back from the brink of bankruptcy and now supports a mixed paid–volunteer operation across multiple municipalities.

Supervisor Lachterman said Yorktown’s next steps will be to engage state representatives regarding support in combining local EMS services; meet with Westchester County officials to discuss the possibility of a county-wide solution; coordinate closely with Cortlandt on any decisions affecting the Mohegan district; and continue detailed discussions with Yorktown’s two volunteer corps to craft a mutually beneficial plan that protects taxpayers while preserving fast, professional ambulance response.