NorthStar Subsidy Amounts - Effective July 1, 2010
Below is a discussion of the formula approved by the NorthStar Advisory Board to establish town support for NorthStar. If you have questions, please email them to the Director at drobie@fchn.org or call him at 779-2770.
NorthStar and Franklin Memorial Hospital are pleased to be providing highly trained professional, modern equipped ambulance and community services to the region. With the strength of a 24/7 regional organization, NorthStar still keeps its patient care operations local to the communities it serves.
NorthStar’s contract with the towns renews each July 1 (to see a copy of the contract, click here). For the contract year (and "fiscal year" 2011) beginning July 1, 2010, NorthStar continues the "universal" formula established in 2006 that applies in the exactly the same way to all towns and counties NorthStar serves.
A notitification letter and detailed explanation has been sent to all towns, plantations, and counties (for the UTs) on December 1, 2009. You can see a copy of the letter by clicking here. Accompanying that letter was a copy of NorthStar's P&L statement for FY 2009, FY2010 and our budget for current FY 2011.
In summary, the formula uses:
Fee. A single Flat Fee for each town ($4,000).
Dollar Value. A dollar amount applied to each town’s unique demographics:
- Population - $11 per person (The ambulance business is about people.)
- Residential Valuation – 7.5¢ per $1000 of valuation (Focusing on the "individual’s" valuation, this is an indication of overall development in the area.)
- Housing Units - $31 per dwelling unit (Taking into consideration seasonal visitors.)
Distance Ratio Factor. Like "insurance", ambulances and crews are positioned at strategic points around the region to assure that responses are timely and available 24/7, even in sparsely settled areas with fewer income producing runs. Since the total subsidy amount is based on NorthStar’s overall deficit (income minus expenses), a distance factor is appropriate. In the formula, the total above is multiplied by a distance factor. To limit the effects of both very short and very long distances the factor has been set with a minimum (0.23) and a maximum (0.95) ratio value.
Limiting Factor. Applying a "Limiting Factor" assures that a town’s subsidy amount will not go up (or down) unreasonably in any one year. The change in support amount year to year is limited to an increase that is no more than a 33% of the amount needed to get to the target subsidy or a 10% decrease from the prior year.
Baring unforeseen circumstances, the single, universal formula should not change significantly over the next few years although there will continue to be changes in the amounts of each town’s support due to changes in demographics and the effects of the Limiting Factor.
NorthStar is proud to be your ambulance service.
| Town/Municipality | Population | '09 Valuation (000) | Housing Units | FY2011 Subsidy Amount (after Limiting Factor) |
| Avon | 504 | $23,698 | 302 | $12,638 |
| Carrabassett Valley | 399 | $525,994 | 1,675 | $93,730 |
| Chesterville | 1,170 | $66,959 | 684 | $11,854 |
| Coplin Plantation | 135 | $24,017 | 160 | $11,506 |
| Dallas Plantation | 250 | $115,501 | 371 | $25,286 |
| Eustis/Stratton | 658 |
$95,521 |
747 | $39,325 |
| Farmington | 7,410 | $283,500 | 3,048 | $45,779 |
| Highland Plantation | 52 | $3,187 | 56 | $5,272 |
| Industry | 790 | $70,586 | 487 | $8,905 |
| Jay | 4,985 | $208,398 | 2,155 | $55,386 |
| Kingfield | 1,103 | $82,968 | 659 | $38,081 |
| Lincoln Plantation | 46 | $8,406 | 119 | $4,862 |
| Livermore | 2,106 | $140,334 | 1,066 | $39,704 |
| Livermore Falls | 3,227 | $96,257 | 1,502 | $45,466 |
| New Portland | 785 | $52,480 | 564 | $23,455 |
| New Sharon | 1,297 | $72,154 | 598 | $14,337 |
| New Vineyard | 725 | $44,009 | 432 | $10,001 |
| Phillips | 990 | $58,462 | 626 | $29,237 |
| Rangeley | 1,052 | $556,805 | 1,561 | $99,329 |
| Rangeley Plantation | 123 | $214,611 | 516 | $35,180 |
| Sandy River Plantation | 93 | $82,056 | 275 | $18,511 |
| Strong | 1,259 | $56,031 | 614 | $16,353 |
| Temple | 572 | $33,574 | 316 | $5,350 |
| Vienna | 527 | $50,855 | 367 | $9,207 |
| Weld | 402 | $72,971 | 691 | $13,671 |
| Wilton | 4,123 | $209,381 | 1,882 | $28,068 |
| Franklin UTs (27) | 880 | $153,815 | 719 | $51,021 |
| Oxford UTs (9) | 10 | $84,865 | 145 | $13,697 |
| Somerset UTs (10) | 23 | $56,321 | 212 | $14,124 |
| $819,334 |
