WOODSTOCK, Vt. (AP) - Voters in the town of Woodstock are going to be asked to consider funding eight full-time emergency medical technicians to help ensure the Vermont community has enough trained professionals to respond to emergencies.
Woodstock voters are also going to be asked to authorize up to $4.5 million in borrowing to renovate and expand its public safety building. Voters would also be asked to spend $593,000 in the coming year to pay the full-time staff of emergency responders.
Fire Chief David Green is preparing to make the case to townspeople next Saturday ahead of the Town Meeting Day vote March 3.
“Woodstock is becoming a community of retirees and second-home owners, and a lot of these people are aging in place rather than living in nursing homes,” Green told the Valley News. “In the past three years, our annual call volume has been 25% higher than in earlier years.”
Meanwhile, the town is running out of volunteers a to undergo EMT training and to staff ambulances.
“We’re very close to not being able to cover some shifts,” Green said. “We can’t guarantee a response to calls, particularly when two come in at the same time.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.