To Our Wonderful Supporters
THANK YOU!
Last year we asked you to support our Major Equipment Fund, to help maintain our lifesaving cardiac monitors and chest compressors. You gave us more than $50,000, enough to ensure our vital equipment is fit and ready for many years to come.
This year we need your help with something even bigger, the biggest asset we have, our building. Last month our boiler broke down. It cost $3500 to fix–it could have been a lot worse–and it made us realize our new home is almost ten years old.
We’d like to create a new account, called our Building Defense Fund, which will hopefully protect us for twenty years and more. Your donations will go into a high earning savings account that will be used to cover future maintenance and replacement costs.
We anticipate that in ten years those costs could reach $20,000, for painting, plumbing, HVAC and appliances. In twenty years, those costs could be double: a generator, a boiler and a new roof. Your donations during this fundraiser could cover all that and more.
Our building is our home away from home. We live there, many of us for 36 hours at a time, waiting for that moment you need us. Please give
Thank You.
Joe Connelly, Director.
Johnsburg Emergency Squad,
Proudly serving Johnsburg and Minerva.
And please don’t forget you can also give to our Endowment with the Adirondack Foundation.
Johnsburg Emergency Squad – ANNUAL REPORT 2024
Submitted by Joe Connelly, Director, November 25, 2024
Overview: An excellent year in many ways, highest revenue, quality hires, quality coverage and care, and strides to the future. We are in excellent shape, today and for years to come. Concerns to consider are our relationship with two current Town Board members, and staffing for Minerva ambulance.
Finances: Our best year in billing revenue. We have already passed our billing forecast for Johnsburg, and we’re very close in Minerva. The $50,000 we should see in surplus by year’s end will be a healthy hedge against any future deficits. And since we did not increase our forecast for 2025, we have a good chance of increasing that surplus. We have $100,000 in savings in case of emergency. $93,000 in our Endowment. And we have $30,000 set aside for future vehicle purchases, and $40,000 for major medical equipment.
Personnel: The increase in our budget this year, to pay for medical insurance, 401K, and hourly wages based on experience, has made us competitive with the other squads in our area. We’ve brought in several per diem medics and two part time EMTs. The new scheduling app, though not cheap, has made for much more efficient coverage. Shift openings are filled almost as soon as they’re available. Best of all, we have Eli Harrison back after a year and a half of medical leave.
Equipment: We have started looking at ordering a new ambulance for next year, to replace our 2019 Mercedes. By the end of 2025 our current loan will be paid off and we should have $30,000 set aside for a down payment on the new ambulance. The $40,000 we have set aside for equipment maintenance, that we received from last year’s annual fundraiser, is a big help to our budget.
Building: Our annual fundraiser this year, the Building Defense Fund, will go into a special account to address long term needs for building maintenance and building equipment replacement.
Our Board: We lost Natalie and Scott, but our 3 new additions have made us stronger than ever. We have experts in many fields, who bring active and critically helpful input, both in meetings and out. I can’t imagine a better group to run our company.
Minerva: We’re getting first responders to close to 90% of our calls there. This is a great help to the people calling and to our duty crew responding. And this is despite only having about half of the schedule filled. Cameron has expanded his role over there and is dedicating more time both to cover shifts and get crews out. The Minerva Board is giving him an extra $10,000 next year to get the Community Paramedicine program off the ground. He’s already making plans for fundraising and community outreach. We’re also putting an emphasis on getting Minerva’s ambulance out more.