Fire and EMS services extended

In late August, the City of Belle Plaine fell short on funding and was forced to relinquish its EMS license, ceasing to provide emergency medical services to it's citizens. They called upon Mulvane, Conway Springs, and Wellington to help cover their territory.
While I sympathize with their problems and want to be a good neighbor, I feel we can only offer help when our resources allow. Because of short staffing and Wellington EMS's already large response area, I voted against extending a helping hand to Belle Plaine.
Wellington already has more than it's fair share of terrority to cover. When the funeral homes could no longer provide ambulance services in the late 1960's, Wellington was forced to provide services to it's citizens. It inherited Oxford, Geuda Springs, and approximately 1/3 of rural Sumner County. Even though the Kansas Turnpike Authority pays no taxes and provides no subsidy for EMS services, Wellington is forced to provide service to 26 miles of the Kansas Turnpike. The department also makes numerous patient transfers to Wichita medical centers, many times a new transfer is scheduled before an ambulance already in Wichita can return to Wellington. Because of this large area and call load, all three Wellington ambulances can be out of the City at any given time. When all three ambulances are out of the station, our citizens are left with no EMS protection.
Wellington also has it's share of manpower shortages. The fire department has been staffed by fifteen firefighters since the late 1940's. Six additional personnel were hired when the City took over EMS services from the funeral homes, but budget cuts in the mid 1970's cut the staff back to fifteen. The same manpower that took care of fire protection for decades now had to provide both fire and EMS services. When off-duty personnel are not available for recall as needed, there are times when manpower shortages leave EMS protection slim.
It is vital that our citizens receive public safety services, the number one priority, and our service was formed to serve the citizens of Wellington first. While I sympathize with the City of Belle Plaine, we must take care of our own first.