New Cohoes ambulance agreement comes with double-digit tax increase

A double-digit tax increase is coming for people living in Cohoes.

The Cohoes City Council’s Public Safety Committee voted on the issue on Thursday evening.

This comes after the city’s longstanding agreement with Empire Ambulance ended.

The city was forced to pay month to month for EMS service with private company Ambulanz, which took over Empire.

“Yes, the residents do have to pay for the two, but we need it, because we can’t have firefighters waiting on scene for an hour and a half, hour and 30 minutes, two hours, when other emergencies are going on, because of our staffing levels. So that’s a win,” Cohoes Firefighter EMT Rob Wattsman said.

There was a need for two city ambulances, because of the call volume in Cohoes, said Wattsman.