West Penn Township won’t be turning over money to the Penn Mahoning Ambulance in the near future.

During Monday morning’s supervisors’ meeting, the board voted 2-1 to stop the payments.

“The point is, they’re depending on us for financial sustainability and that should not be,” said Supervisor Glenn Hummel.

The board, however, can release money to Penn Mahoning - or other ambulance associations - if it chooses to do so in the future.

The motion, made by Hummel, says that the township can now “divvy up independently (the ambulance funding) as we see fit throughout the year.”

He said he’d like to see Penn Mahoning thriving on its own before the township commits any more money to it.

At its last meeting, the board voted to keep Penn Mahoning as primary provider when it’s in service. If it is not in service, it will have Tamaqua Community Ambulance as the primary. Also during that meeting, Hummel said he didn’t want Penn Mahoning to close its doors, but said the township “should not be funding you to ensure you have financial (sustainability).”

In 2021 and 2022, the township made $45,000 annual payments to Penn Mahoning. This year, it turned over $15,000. The township is not required to make the payments but it does budget for them.

“Somewhere down the road, the ambulance association are going to have to make a decision because of financial liability on how they are going to continue to survive,” said Supervisor Tim Houser said.

Houser seconded Hummel’s motion. Chairman Tony Prudenti voted against it.

In June, supervisors asked Penn Mahoning to show financial progress by July 1. Hummel said the township wants to see a business plan and what Penn Mahoning is doing to “become financially sustainable.”

Hummel had also said he’d be open to a workshop meeting with the ambulance.