Additional EMS referendums loom

The villages of Fredonia and Belgium may hold referendums in November to fund 24/7 emergency medical services as money from Ozaukee County is starting to run out, and the towns of Fredonia and Belgium may join them.

The Joint Fire/EMS Committee, which includes representatives from each of the four municipalities, last week came to a consensus to hold referendums. How much money the referendums would ask for hasn’t been determined.

The committee initially determined how to combine EMS in northern Ozaukee County to improve response times among a shrinking volunteer pool and amid rising call volumes, then developed a cost formula for each village and town based on population, call volume and equalized value of property improvement.

The program got a kick-start from Ozaukee County, which used some of its federal American Rescue Plan Act money for EMS across the county. The northern Ozaukee departments received $640,000.

But ARPA money needs to be earmarked by the end of 2024 and spent by the end of 2026, and once it runs out municipalities are on their own when it comes to paying for EMS services.

Fredonia Fire Chief Brian Weyker said he was told the municipalities are not supposed to come back to the county to ask for more money.

Fredonia is estimating an $85,000 deficit in the EMS program by the end of 2025, triggering the referendum discussion.

The Village of Fredonia runs the northern Ozaukee departments’ EMS system with the other municipalities participating on a contract basis that includes limits on annual cost increases.

Fredonia’s department has two full-time paramedics with the goal of having three, along with three-part time paramedics to allow for vacations and offer 24/7 service.

Paramedics work 24 hours straight, then have 48 hours off. During gaps, calls are handled by the Port Washington ambulance, which also gets 50% of those calls’ revenue.

“The most important thing is the call got answered,” Belgium Town Chairman Tom Winker said.

Weyker wants to get full-time coverage as soon as he can.

“If we get a rescue 1 call (most critical) and I don’t have a paramedic here, that bothers the hell out of me,” he said.

“Calls falling through those gaps is really important data for taxpayers,” Belgium Village Clerk Vickie Boehnlein said.

Weyker said the department has answered 30 more EMS calls so far this year than it did last year at this time, and it’s on pace for a record year.

Just having money is one hurdle; hiring is another. One paramedic started in March and another in October. Weyker has been using his part-timers to fill in to make the county money last longer.

Some paramedics seek higher call volumes than northern Ozaukee will provide. Weyker said he talked to someone at Bell Ambulance who had 30 calls in 24 hours, and, “he loves that.”

The northern Ozaukee communities have their benefits, too, Winker said.

“There are advantages to working in Ozaukee County instead of Milwaukee, I will say that out loud,” he said.

Weyker said he lost two employees who went to private ambulance services. Fredonia’s salaries, he said, are competitive with other departments in the area.

“They’re out there. We just need to find them,” he said of part-time paramedics.

Despite bumps in the road in developing the department so far, the committee supports offering 24/7 service.

“I feel it’s inevitable. It’s positive,” Fredonia Town Chairman Lance Leider said.

Fredonia Trustee and Public Safety Committee Chairman Kurt Meyle said, “I think it’s very important that we maintain this. When it comes to government responsibilities, this is the basic thing, police and EMS.”

Belgium Trustee Chris Plier said, “No one wants to be waiting there for help to arrive.”

Winker asked for a running total of EMS costs each quarter so municipalities can plan.

“We need to get a handle on what our costs are going to be so we can budget,” he said.

Fredonia Village Administrator Christophe Jenkins said raises and inflation need to be taken into account as well.

The committee initially thought November might be too soon to put together an information campaign for a referendum, but Boehnlein said that if the municipalities wait until April and any of the referendums fail, the communities have to come up with the money in their budget.

An early cost estimate for the Village of Belgium is $150,000, which Boehnlein said is 15% of the community’s operating budget.

The referendum also would fall on the presidential election, which draws more voters, and on a third Northern Ozaukee School District operating referendum.

“I think voters are worn out by school referendums,” Boehnlein said. EMS, she said, “is a whole different animal than a school thing.”

Towns with fewer than 3,000 people, such as Fredonia and Belgium, wouldn’t need a referendum. They could hold an elector meeting to approve spending the necessary money.

Making the case for the value of 24/7 EMS shouldn’t be difficult, officials said.

“What if it’s for you? What if it’s for a family member?” Winker asked. “There’s nothing more important.”

Winker asked the municipalities to come to a consensus on how to proceed by June 19, the next Joint Fire/EMS Committee meeting.

Other municipalities across the county already approved referendums for EMS services, including the Village of Grafton, towns of Grafton and Saukville and cities of Port Washington and Cedarburg.