Michael Ryan is reporting in The Daily Mail a year after the special Greene County EMT task force was established, it has presented a preliminary budget of what is needed to sustain a countywide ambulance service. At a meeting last week, the task force estimated the total amount to be $3.15 million, based on information gathered from municipalities and the county. Start-up expenses for the first year of the new system could add as much as $1.2 million to cover the purchase of ambulances, setting up sites and buying needed equipment. Task force member and county Legislator William Lawrence will talk to the county’s Real Property Tax agency to determine the best way to assess the costs across the board and with the least impact on local budgets. A member of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's staff will be invited to the next task force session, slated for January 13. They will be asked to speak about the difficulties faced as municipalities try to carry out the process of consolidation. In the meantime, the task force is expected to meet with members of the Mountaintop Supervisor and Mayors Association. Editor's note: Lawrence is a WGXC programmer. Read the full story in The Daily Mail.