CRS also lost responsibility for the state prison complex south of Hagerstown to Boonsboro Ambulance and Rescue Inc. That cost CRS $50,000 in annual compensation from the state, Nye said.
"We are losing the areas that generate the revenues," Amos said.
Although the company's territory shrank, CRS officials said it is not enough to reduce medics.
Nye said the territory "gerrymandering" is the main reason the company's billing recovery rate dropped from almost 70 percent in fiscal year 1996 to 46 percent in fiscal year 1998.
Grimes said boundary adjustments have been made in order to provide the fastest response to emergencies.
"I don't think what Halfway took was that dramatic," he said.
Rescue companies can appeal changes made by association to the County Commissioners, something CRS officials vow to do if the county association rules against them in the future.
"Every change of territory request that they make, we're going to appeal from here on out," Amos said.
Ringer agreed with CRS's criticism of a system in which access to fund-raising territory - and not proximity to ambulance stations - sometimes dominates boundary disputes.
Grimes, meanwhile, said disputes have been resolved to ensure maximum patient safety.
"After this latest round, those borders will be right on the money," he said.
However the Community Rescue Service's problems play out, the issue promises to have serious consequences. If cutbacks reduce service to the county's population center, Nye said surrounding companies will be forced to pick up the slack.
"Then it won't just be our problem," he said.
