Comparing rides of Rescue 1, Rescue 2 (video)

Rescue 1, left, and Rescue 2 (Courtesy photo/Lebanon Rescue)

To watch video of ride on Rescue 1, click here

To watch video of ride on Rescue 2, click here

SOUTH LEBANON - The Lebanon Voice editor Harrison Thorp took a ride in both of Lebanon Rescue Department's ambulances on Friday, courtesy of Rescue Chief Jenny Sheriff and Deputy Chief Kevin Romano.

With a driver traveling identical roads during two separate runs, we got an up close and personal view of just how different a ride you get in both vehicles.

During the ride, we spoke at length with the rescue chief about how she feels about the possibility of losing Rescue 2, a 2010 Chevrolet, which would cut Lebanon Rescue's fleet down to just one ambulance.

The possibility is real as the Lebanon Board of Selectmen placed an article on the November ballot that would allow them to back out of a lease on the newer vehicle.

If Lebanon voters vote "yes" on the question, they will lose Rescue 2.

Selectmen argue that the department, which must rely on its own funds through an enterprise account, cannot afford the payment and other everyday expenses as it struggles out from enormous debt left by the previous administration.

Lebanon voters in June rejected a $40,000 Rescue Department subsidy that would have provided funding for the lease payment.

So, with no funding mechanism in place, selectmen crafted a ballot question that will allow the town to "nonappropriate" the lease payment and turn the newer Chevrolet ambulance (Rescue 2) back to the lessee, sort of like a voluntary repossession.

A yes vote on the ballot question will do just that, while a no vote will force selectmen to appropriate money from the town's contingency fund to make the payment.

The 2004 Ford ambulance is still serviceable, but in need of more than $15,000 worth of repairs as is Rescue 2 as well. A five-minute wait time is necessary on every Rescue 1 call to allow air shocks to fill, Romano indicated on Friday.

Another issue is that paring the department down to just one ambulance will render it unable to answer simultaneous calls and that, especially in winter, having just one ambulance just doesn't make sense.

The ambulance ballot question reads, ""Shall the Town of Lebanon vote to prohibit the Town from performing its obligations under the Lease with Option to Purchase Agreement with All American Investment Group, LLC, dated December 6, 2010 for the 2010 Horton ambulance and from using any moneys to pay the Rental Payments due under said Agreement for the 2014-2015 budget year and all subsequent budget years thereafter?"

A "Yes" vote is recommended by all three selectmen and by the budget committee, 6-0.