Members of Steubenville City Council will face an easy decision when they meet Tuesday.
They’ll be asked to consider emergency legislation that will allow Fire Chief Carlo Capaldi to hire three additional firefighters to help staff the city’s ambulance service.
It’s a request they should say yes to.
Added personnel will help the city put a second ambulance into operation while reducing some of the strain the department has been under since launching its EMT service in October.
The need is certainly there. Capaldi told councilmembers at last Tuesday’s meeting the city has been averaging between nine and 10 ambulance calls a day. That has led to revenue of $46,000 a number that is likely to grow as those payments can lag as much as six months behind. Original projections had anticipated bringing $715,000 in EMS revenue into city coffers, money that would cover the cost six people to staff ambulances.