The Board of Selectmen motioned to “write off” $458,736.16 from Emergency Medical Services collections with the understanding that efforts will continue when appropriate.

At the board's Tuesday night meeting, Chairman Patrick Tropeano commented that the collections are carried as receivables. This refers to the debt owed to the town, which are listed on the balance sheet as either long-term or short-term assets, depending on how soon the town expects the payments to be made.

“This is pretty typical of an ambulance service. It doesn't matter who runs it or where it's run at,” said Tropeano. “Lots of bills end up not getting paid for one reason or another.”

Some of these reasons may include emergency services offered to those who can't afford an ambulance in the first place, deaths as a result of emergency situations, and the need to simply remind citizens of unpaid EMS bills.

“It happens to be the nature of the business, and it's always been like this and it isn't just us,” said Tropeano, who assured the public that many, if not all, towns faced the same problem.

The current bills in Wareham amount to about $224,000, according to Town Administrator Derek Sullivan. This is the largest sum of the total money due overall, and these bills were issued within the past month. The rest of the bills are between 31 and 180 days old. The bills due in the past 30 days represent the largest amount of money the town owes. Older bills are smaller, which means they are being slowly paid off.

Selectman Peter Teitelbaum pointed out that the EMS earned money for the town. Sullivan added, “In the last year they brought in a little over $1.4 million.”

Selectman Judith Whiteside, when motioning for the vote, noted that the board would call it a “write-off” though collections of the lump sum will continue.