Ambulance service chief Brad James wishes he had an easy fix for the plight of first responders locally and across the state.

Rescue crews for years have faced a growing crisis of insufficient funding and a dwindling workforce.

“I wish someone would come and wave a magic wand at the federal and state levels to fix this,” James said. “It’s gonna be up to the Eurekas and the Citizens of the world to do it.”

A proposed paid ambulance authority — the Alle-Kiski Emergency Service Authority — is up for approval during a special meeting Wednesday at the Brackenridge American Legion. The meeting was postponed in January after a scheduling glitch.

If approved, the move would merge Eureka Community Ambulance in Tarentum and Citizens Hose EMS in Harrison. It would serve Brackenridge, Harrison and Tarentum.

Residents of member communities would share costs, initially estimated at about $85 a year, or $7 a month per household. Operations would be supported by the annual fee and insurance reimbursements.

The agenda for the meeting includes the appointment of authority board members, who will begin to formalize billing processes and operational details.

A combined department is expected to support faster response times and new hires, consultants on the project have said over the two-year course of finalizing plans.

Pooled resources can help deliver better coverage, stable funding and increased retention.

Leaders at both Eureka and Citizens have said operations would not be sustainable without merging.

“We eagerly anticipate some good things coming,” James said.

He said first responders have been dealing with the crisis a long time, but that “one of the great things that has happened in the last few years is that the issue is finally gaining traction.”

“Although we have had to deal with it, we’re finally getting statistics out to people about how bad a problem it is. It’s an issue that no one entity could fix.”

There is room in the future to add municipalities to the mix, leaders said.

Residents can learn more about the plan at allekiskiemergency.org.