By Scott Novak
The Edwardsburg Argus
EDWARDSBURG, Mich. — The Edwardsburg Ambulance Service will be asking voters to approve a millage renewal and an operating millage in August.
The renewal is for two mills ($2 per $1,000 of taxable value) and is levied for four years (2016-19) inclusive. The monies raised would go toward maintenance and operation of the ambulance service and the purchase and housing of ambulances and ambulance apparatus and equipment.
The total estimated amount of revenue to be generated by the renewal would by $230,916 for 2016.
The proposed ambulance service millage is for .50 mills ($.05 per $1,000 of taxable value) for 2016 and 2017.
It would provide funds for maintenance and operation of the Edwardsburg Ambulance Service. It would raise an estimated $115,458 the first year.
The additional millage request would help it upgrade its vehicles and equipment so that it can continue to provide and improve the services to the community.
“The units are getting older and this would help up with the budget for a newer vehicle and to be better equipped,” Edwardsburg Ambulance Board member Dan Stutsman said.
Pat Makielski, another ambulance board member, added that despite asking for the millage, they are still looking at ways to save money.
“I still think it is my responsibility to look at ways to improve and to be fiscally responsible and ways to save money,” Makielski said. “We do not want to keep going back to the well without also looking at efficiencies.”
Edwardsburg Ambulance Service has not asked for a millage increase since 1998 and its employees have not seen a wage increase in four years.
The board and ambulance administrator Dennis Closson have looked at multiple ways of getting additional funding without asking the taxpayers.
“I think right now we have a great board and a great administrator that we can work with to improve the ambulance service as we go along,” Stutsman said.
Stutsman said that the community is blessed to have some of the best medics in the area.
“I think they are some of the best medics out there that are available for this size area,” he said. “They know the community, the area and their jobs. They know what other services are doing because some of them work for other services as well and bring back ideas.”
“They may work in some larger townships, but they still know our citizens,” Makielski said.
Closson added that the experience level of the medics is very high.
Edwardsburg currently operates two ambulances, one of which is primarily used as a transfer unit.
Additional millage would help them either purchase a newer ambulance or make repairs to a third truck, which is currently out of service.
“Our highest call volume is during the day,” the ambulance service brochure states. “Having a second truck available is often critical. But since the truck is a back up it sits close to a local hospital to offer transfer service to help defray the costs of staffing a second truck. When the primary truck is on a call, this truck does move back into the area.”
Closson said that maintaining other units has come more costly.
“The transfer truck and the back up truck are getting to be in poor shape,” he said. “The transfer truck is getting to be very expensive to maintain. In the long term it would be a big cost savings to be able to upgrade those.”
The millage vote will be held Aug. 2.
Copyright 2016 the Edwardsburg Argus