Village OKs plan to hire a full-time EMT

The Fredonia Village Board last week approved a plan to create a full-time emergency medical technician position, replacing two part-time positions that currently exist, and to increase ambulance fees to help pay for the added expense.

The new position would be salaried and receive benefits, unlike the part-time positions.

Making the position full-time with benefits would expand the pool of likely applicants, Fire Chief Brian Weyker told trustees.

“We’ve been struggling to fill the part-time positions,” he said.

The openings are due to the retirement of husband and wife John and Priscilla Lemke.

The increase in fees comes from eliminating the difference between rates charged to residents and nonresidents. The basic life support rate for residents will increase from $600 to $675, advanced life support emergency rates will rise from $675 to $775 and mileage charges, from the pick-up location to the destination, will go up from $14 to $15.

About a third of the calls are from village residents, Weyker said, with the rest coming from outside the village.

With the increases, Fredonia’s rates are still near the bottom of similar-sized communities in the area, according to figures supplied to the Village Board.

The average charge for basic life support is $693 and advanced life support calls garner $816 on average among the five communities to which Fredonia was compared.

“Even with the increase, we’re still in the middle of the pack” for fees, Village President Don Dohrwardt said.