The Carbon County Council of Governments on Sunday contributed $7,000 to four local ambulance associations.

The Council of Governments consists of representation from the various municipalities throughout the county.

The Lehighton Ambulance Association received $4,000, which amounts to $1,000 for each of the four stations it maintains. Palmerton Ambulance Association, Lake Harmony Rescue and Ambulance Squad and Mahoning Valley Ambulance Association each were give $1,000.

The check presentations were made by Kara Scott of Bowmanstown, chairwoman of the Council of Governments, during a brief program in the all-purpose room of the Lehighton station of the Lehighton Ambulance Association.

Receiving the checks for their respective units were Keith Heckman for Lehighton, Josh Jacobs for Palmerton and Scott Wuttke of Lake Harmony. No representative of Mahoning Valley was present.

Also present were Carbon County Commissioners Wayne E. Nothstein and Mike Sofranko. The commissioners presented the ambulance units with a proclamation.

Scott told the ambulance corps representatives, “We know how important your services are.”

“We recognize you,” she said. “We feel you. We see your struggles.”

She said the donations by the council is “to keep your services running smoothly.”

“We want you guys to have the best equipment you can, for yourself and for every resident of the county,” she said.

It was noted that so far this year, local ambulance units responded to over 13,000 calls through October.

She said, “The reality is, when people are in need it’s nice to know you are there.”

Some ambulance association members said it is difficult to recruit and train members to serve with their units.

“Salaries are low, very low,” Wuttke said.

He said there used to be seven or eight more ambulance squads in Carbon County and now it’s down to four.

He said Palmerton recently purchased a new vehicle and the cost was $254,000. He added that in Kidder Township, the township is generous with helping with expenses.

Heckman said, “We’re trying to keep the salaries as high as we can to keep the members, but they’re still low.”

He added that operating costs keep going up, too. “Everything is expensive,” he said.

Commissioner Nothstein said one of the issues confronting ambulance corps is billing.

He said some insurance companies send reimbursement directly to the patients.

Often, he said, “People pocket the money and don’t pay the ambulance.”

He said this is an issue which has to be addressed by the state.

Nothstein said the council’s purpose for municipalities “to work together.” He said the main focus is “how we can help each other.”

Last year, the council made a significant donation to local fire departments.