After considerable discussion over the course of at least three meetings, the select boards from Wilton, Lyndeborough and Greenfield agreed on a 2026 budget for the Wilton Ambulance Service, passing along the final decision to voters at the March town meetings.
On Thursday, Jan. 8, Wilton’s Select Board held a follow-up meeting to one they hosted on Jan. 5. Representatives from Lyndeborough’s Select Board were present to hear Wilton Ambulance Service Chief Danielle Gardiner’s final presentation on the service’s proposed 2026 budget. Select Board members from Greenfield, which also shares the ambulance service with Wilton and Lyndeborough, were not at the meeting.
Between Dec. 30 and Jan 8, Gardiner proposed three separate budgets. The first aimed strictly at baseline operations. The second budget included purchases for new Lifepak-35 cardiac monitors, power loaders, power stretchers and a new ambulance. In addition to all of these items, the third budget also included an additional full-time employee.
According to Lyndeborough Select Board Chair Mark Chamberlain, Lyndeborough motioned to approve the ambulance service’s third budget proposal without modification 2-1 at its Select Board meeting on Jan 7.
By the end of the Jan. 8 Wilton Select Board meeting, all three towns added the third proposed ambulance budget to their overall 2026 budget, which residents will have the opportunity to vote on at their respective town meetings in March.
A few changes were addressed at the Jan. 8 meeting. First, the total cost of the cardiac monitors, power loaders and power stretchers is $236,170. The previous figure provided at the first Wilton Select Board meeting on Dec. 30, 2025 was $278,911.87.
The ambulance service will purchase the equipment from Stryker, a medical technology manufacturer. Wilton Ambulance Service will pay Stryker $60,000 up-front for a five-year 0% interest rate using the revolving funds balance. The $60,000 will cover the cost for one of two cardiac monitors, meaning taxpayers will not be paying for the first cardiac monitor.
The cardiac monitors each cost $59,055, and the power loaders and stretchers total $177,115, bringing the combined cost for taxpayers to $236,170.
Taxpayers will fund $11,811 per year over five years for the cardiac monitors and $35,425 per year over five years for the power loaders and stretchers.
Because the ambulance service is shared among Wilton, Lyndeborough and Greenfield, annual contribution is based on town usage percentage.
The 2025 usage percentages Gardiner provided were 54.98% for Wilton, 21.75% for Lyndeborough and 23.27% for Greenfield.
Wilton’s tax contribution will be $6,495 per year for the cardiac monitors and $19,478 per year for the power loaders and stretchers. Lyndeborough’s annual tax contribution will be $2,568 and $7,703, and Greenfield’s will be $2,748 and $8,243, respectively.
The ambulance, which will have a 4.5% interest rate on its seven-year lease, will cost $56,664 per year. For Wilton, Lyndeborough and Greenfield, that is an annual taxpayer contribution of $31,157, $12,322 and $13,185, respectively.
The additional full-time employee will cost about $55,000 per year, most of which comes from the included benefits package.
In other business, Select Board members from Greenfield joined those from Wilton and Lyndeborough at Thursday’s meeting to discuss the shared town recycling center’s budget. The Wilton Recycling Center is shared between Wilton, Lyndeborough, Mason, Greenville and Temple. Residents from all five towns will have the opportunity to vote on the budget proposal at their annual town meetings.
The previous article on the ambulance budget proposal can be found here: