(Mayville) The Mayville Common Council changed course Monday night on plans to increase the amount neighboring townships pay to utilize the city’s ambulance services. City officials in Mayville approved a plan last month that would have had taxpayers in Hubbard, LeRoy, Lomira, Williamstown, Iron Ridge and Kekoskee pay for EMS services with a mill rate increase of nine-cents per one-thousand dollars of assessed value. Under the townships current contract, they are paying roughly $16-thousand dollars per-year combined. By increasing the mill rate nine-cents, around $30-thousand dollar would have been generated.
Mayville EMS Director Christine Churchill says the townships were not happy with the mill rate increase proposal and began looking at other options, potentially resulting in a loss of revenue that could have had a significant impact on the city’s EMS budget. Churchill says working with their neighbors allows her department to thrive and it will go south if that partnership does not continue.
Alderwoman Rachel Forster made a motion Monday night to increase the townships original $16-thousand-dollar contract price by ten-percent for each of the next three years. That means next year, the townships will pay a combined $17-thousand dollars while in 2020 EMS services will be given $19-thousand dollars and in 2021 the payment will be $21-thousand. The motion was approved unanimously, and the townships indicated to Churchill that they would support the ten-percent increase.
Mayor Rob Boelk believes his mill rate plan would have been a fair asking price for the EMS services the city provides to the townships. He says Mayville residents pay roughly $40.50 per one-hundred-thousand dollars of assed value for EMS and notes that the townships would have paid $13.50 which he notes is less than a case a beer. Boelk says he believes ambulance services are more important than a case of beer.
Last week, the state accepted plans to dissolve the Village of Kekoskee into the town of Williamstown. If the merger goes through as approved, the new Village of Williamstown would be removed from the plan and would have to renegotiate with Mayville.
