As of this month, for the duration of the current contract, the Town of Cornwall will pay an additional $10,000 per month to New Windsor/Cornwall EMS, in an agreed upon rider to the contract between the two. That money was budgeted for in the town’s 2025 spending plan.
Until December, the contract for ambulance service to the community cost the town $28,000 per month; that price is increasing to $38,000 per month.
“I still think it’s the best deal, and the best ambulance service in Orange County,” Supervisor Josh Wojehowski said at the January 21 Town Board meeting where the rider was okayed by the board. He added that the town, Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson and New Windsor/Cornwall EMS are currently in negotiations for the 2026 calendar year and beyond. The town pays for ambulance service via the General Fund, which village residents pay into as part of their annual property tax payment to the Town in January.
“If you look at what municipalities are paying for ambulance service around the county, $456k per year is a steal,” he added.”
Why the increase? The original contract did not stipulate that the Clinton St., Cornwall Ambulance Hall be staffed at all times with a paramedic. The new rider on the contract requires that additional staffing. In addition, the supervisor said, the increase covers the rising costs of providing the service.
The contract, which was signed on June 1, 2022, runs through April 30, 2025. The town already knows, the supervisor added, that year one of the new contract will cost $38,000 per month.
Having the paramedic in Cornwall helps provide a higher level of care more quickly, the board noted at last week’s meeting. Later in the session, Wojehowski noted that again in December, New Windsor/Cornwall EMS were able to cover 100 percent of the ambulance calls in the town and village, with response times of just over seven minutes in the village and just over six minutes in the town. In New Windsor, the average response time is about six and a half minutes. All on the board expressed appreciation for that quick and efficient service.