Starting January 1, 2027, a 911 medical call from Seven Fields will bring an ambulance from Quality EMS. Cranberry Township EMS has handled those calls until now. The switch is the borough's answer to a funding question that ambulance services across Butler County started asking local governments in 2026: who pays to keep the ambulances running? Seven Fields had two answers in front of it. One was a flat $35 per household. The other was a fee tied to assessed property values. The borough chose the flat fee.
The part of state law that nobody used to invoke
Pennsylvania municipalities have always been responsible for naming an EMS provider. Keith Singleton, executive director of Quality EMS, told Seven Fields council on August 10 that the law also expects them to help pay for one. The Butler Eagle reported his view that "Up until recently, we've never had to really engage in the second part of that code."
Singleton laid out the numbers behind that change. A call costs Quality an average of $550 to run, and the average reimbursement is about $340. He also told council that several Pennsylvania EMS providers have shut down in recent years. He put that down to fewer volunteers and higher operating costs, and he said the field has moved from volunteer-run service to paid careers with heavier training requirements.
Cranberry Township EMS had been operating on the old model. The township's own FAQ calls CTEMS an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is "neither funded nor supported by tax monies except for an annual fuel stipend." That model covered Seven Fields at no direct cost to the borough. It doesn't hold up when each call loses money.
Two offers, two ways to split the cost
By spring 2026, Seven Fields had a funding proposal from each provider. The two were built differently.
In May, the Butler Eagle reported that CTEMS Chief Matt Nickl was working on an EMS authority covering Cranberry Township, Seven Fields and New Sewickley Township in Beaver County. The idea came from the Alle-Kiski model. Each household or business would pay an annual fee through a municipal contribution, and the authority would need state approval before it could collect fees from several municipalities based on assessed property values. Nickl's case for it was consistency. "It shouldn't matter where you live," he told the paper. "It should be the same approach from every municipality."
Quality EMS offered a simpler arrangement. Each municipality it serves pays a set amount per household.
| Cranberry Township EMS authority, as proposed in May 2026 | Quality EMS contract, approved August 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | A separate authority, with CTEMS keeping its own nonprofit status | Direct agreement between the borough and the nonprofit |
| How the cost is set | Annual fees based on assessed property values | $35 per household |
| Total target | About $700,000 a year across the three municipalities | Set by the borough's household count |
| Timing | Target launch of January 2027, pending state approval | Three years starting January 1, 2027, with an option for a fourth |
| Who pays in 2027 | Collected through municipal contributions | The borough has said it will absorb the cost |
When the May story ran, Seven Fields hadn't committed to the authority. Borough manager Tom Smith later said council looked at several companies before deciding Quality EMS was the best option. The vote on August 10 was 4-0. Smith also explained how the bill reaches residents: "The borough is going to absorb the cost for the fiscal year 2027 and a foreseeable future for as long as we possibly can."
So in 2027, the $35 is a line in the borough budget. Households won't see it as a separate bill.
Forward Township got the same $35 request and turned it down
Seven Fields' choice is clearer next to Forward Township's. Quality EMS asked Forward for the same $35 per household. Forward had donated to Quality in the past but decided not to pay a required fee. In the Butler Eagle's account, board of supervisors chairwoman Susan Oliver-Stough said: "We're going to be losing them because we've chosen to lose them."
Forward had a way out because three providers already served it. Quality covered 446 addresses there, Butler Ambulance 567 and Harmony EMS 379. On October 1, Quality's addresses were reassigned to the other two. According to a September Butler Eagle follow-up, Quality subscribers in Forward keep their coverage until their subscriptions run out, and those subscriptions won't be renewed.
Seven Fields didn't have that option. Before the vote, its only provider was CTEMS, which serves Cranberry Township, Seven Fields and the southeast part of New Sewickley. Under state law, the borough has to have an EMS provider, and the providers were asking for municipal money. It couldn't decline to pay and still be covered by someone else. Its choice was which funding structure to sign up for.
What Seven Fields' call volume looks like
The borough's EMS demand is small and fairly steady. Smith reported 406 calls from the start of 2023 through August 7, 2026: 139 in 2023, 96 in 2024, 109 in 2025 and 62 in 2026 as of August 7.
For comparison, Singleton told council that Quality expected to handle about 5,500 calls across its whole service area by the end of 2026. Seven Fields' share of that would be about a hundred calls a year, based on recent annual totals. Singleton's $550 cost and $340 reimbursement are averages across calls, not Seven Fields figures. Still, they show why a provider wants a fixed annual payment from each municipality it serves on top of what it bills per trip.
Who Quality EMS is
Quality EMS is based at 222 Brickyard Road, which has a Mars mailing address. Its website lists service to Adams and Middlesex townships and to the boroughs of Seven Fields, Callery, Mars and Valencia. Seven Fields joins neighbors that already pay into the service. Adams, Middlesex and Mars were making municipal contributions to Quality in 2026.
Here is what Quality reports about its operations:
- Fleet, as of June 2025: four advanced life support ambulances, one basic life support ambulance, three wheelchair vans and two support vehicles
- Staff, as of June 2025: 17 full-time and 15 part-time employees
- Daily coverage, as reported in August 2026: four ambulances six days a week and three on Sundays
- Where the money goes: Singleton told council that all municipal support goes back into operations
Questions to settle before January
The contract is signed. Some household details still need answers, and the people who can answer them are the providers and the borough.
- Does a current Cranberry EMS subscription count after January 1? The Cranberry Township FAQ says CTEMS subscribers who are taken to the hospital on a 911 call have the rest of the ambulance bill written off, minus a $50 service charge. It also says neighboring ambulance services honor CTEMS subscriptions through reciprocal agreements. The FAQ doesn't name Quality EMS or address Seven Fields addresses after the switch. CTEMS can say whether a current subscription will apply.
- What will a Quality EMS subscription include? The Quality EMS subscriptions page says subscribers get discounted rates on emergency and wheelchair-van service, including trips to medical appointments and hospital discharges. It doesn't list a price or the size of the discount, so households will need to ask Quality.
- How will the borough budget for it? Smith said council would build the 2027 budget with EMS spending in mind. EMS wasn't on the October 12 council agenda, which covered September minutes, the quarterly financial analysis and 2027 employee health insurance. The 2027 budget will be the first look at the actual EMS line. Agendas are posted on the Seven Fields Borough website.
Calling for help doesn't change. You still dial 911, and Butler County's 911 center dispatches the ambulance. The change is which agency's ambulance gets sent to a Seven Fields address.
Subscriptions and billing terms vary by provider and by household. This post is general information and not legal, insurance or financial advice, so confirm your own situation with the provider or the right professional.
Changes to borough services, like who sends the ambulance, what the borough budget covers and what the 2027 budget includes, are part of what a Seven Fields address costs and offers. Kelly Cheponis keeps track of these details for clients buying and selling in the borough. If you'd like to talk about how changes like this affect your home's value, reach out to Pittsburgh Property Shark or start with an instant home valuation.
