As Jaffrey community members offered input on the future of their ambulance services, no one in the audience had strong feelings about which of four options to pursue: whether the town sticks with its current model that will soon cost more, contracts with Peterborough or Cheshire County or starts its own ambulance service.

They did have things to say about what they didn’t want: namely, longer response times or ballooning budgets.

That’s exactly what Jaffrey could be looking at, however, as the Select Board mulls what to do once Rindge exits the shared Jaffrey Rindge Memorial Ambulance, or JRMA, service. With budget talks already underway for next year, the board plans to make a decision at its next meeting on Nov. 24.

Rindge announced this fall it would no longer use JRMA after 2026, instead contracting with Peterborough Fire & Rescue. That leaves Jaffrey responsible for the full cost of running JRMA, costs that were already expected to double from $125,000 to $250,000 for the coming year. If Jaffrey pays for the entire service, including the half Rindge would have covered, the cost would be $500,000 — quadrupling its current budget.

This had the board reviewing other possible options, with four total presented to members of the public for feedback on Tuesday.

The first is to stay with JRMA at the same level of service: one ambulance staffed 24 hours a day and a second ambulance from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., for $500,000.

The second option is to contract with Peterborough for 24-hour coverage for $530,000.

The third choice is to contract with the Cheshire County ambulance, which could either keep the same amount of service offered by JRMA at a cost of $553,274, or provide only one 24-hour ambulance for $259,118. The county would run and staff the ambulance but house it in Jaffrey, either in the current JRMA bay (owned by Jaffrey) or at the fire station.

The fourth option is for Jaffrey to establish its own service, which would cost about $1.5 million because of health insurance and retirement requirements. That would cover only operating costs, not the cost of purchasing ambulances or equipment, Town Manager Jon Frederick said.

Expense and response times weighed by the public

Norman Langevin, chair of Jaffrey’s Budget Committee, said the town was looking at an increase no matter what, but the Select Board will eventually have to put something forward at Town Meeting that would “fit the purses of our residents.”

Langevin said he was “really uncomfortable” with the idea of Jaffrey starting its own service at that price tag, calling it “premature.”

“That’s a lot of money if option four came into play,” said Langevin. “Is that something the town is ready for?”

Langevin said he was also not in favor of contracting with Peterborough, a sentiment echoed by several other people present, mostly due to increased response time in emergencies if ambulances must travel from one town over.

Marc Winiecki, an osteopathic family doctor who runs Monad Doc Health Direct in Jaffrey, said that was his main concern. He said response time in some emergencies “is critical, and can’t be understated.”

“What we get from having it in town is going to be way, way safer, and more value than it appears,” said Winiecki.

Selectman Franklin Sterling said his current opinion is to stay with JRMA, while also exploring ways to share costs, such as approaching neighboring towns to see if they were happy with their ambulance services or looking for something new.

“I recommend staying with what we’ve got for another full year,” said Sterling. “Take it from there and see where it goes.”