Hatfield Select Board Resists South County EMS Rate Hike
Select Board · Meeting of September 29, 2026
Hatfield Select Board rejects South County EMS's bid to triple its ambulance rate. South County EMS Chief Tim Drummond told the board his agency has run 71 calls in Hatfield since July 1 and wants to become the town's primary ambulance provider at roughly $1,200 per call, up from a $350 mutual aid rate. Hatfield Fire Chief Robert Flaherty warned the move could cost the town its own ambulance license "essentially from square one" if relations later soured.
Board members countered that billed revenue should offset the new rate closer to $500 a call. Separately, the board unanimously adopted a tax factor of one for FY27, keeping a single tax rate with no new exemptions, and heard that Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust's FY27 premium rose 12.48 percent after ending the year with nearly $7 million in reserve. Negotiations with South County continue before the current agreement lapses in mid-October.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 3,294 words
Source: the Select Board meeting of September 29, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
Keep reading with a 30-day free trial
Subscribe to Hampshire County News to keep reading this post and get 30 days of free access to the full post archives.
Starting a trial requires a payment method. After 30 free days your subscription begins at the price shown at checkout and renews automatically until you cancel. You can cancel anytime from your account. Subscription terms
A subscription gets you:
- Subscriber-only posts and full archive
- Post comments and join the community
- 24x7 access to local news