By Nicholas Walczak
WiscNews
PORTAGE, Wis. — Portage voters will decide in February if they want to fund their own EMS services or pay the high cost of the city’s current provider.
“Taking EMS service ‘in-house’ as part of the Fire Department gives the city complete control over the system and how best to serve residents,” said Portage Fire Chief Troy Haase. “This level of control and adaptability is rarely available through partnerships with third-party providers.”
The Common Council approved a referendum question for the Feb. 20 ballot at its meeting Thursday.
The vote will determine if the city will increase its tax levy in 2024 and each year going forward by about $1.5 million.
The increase would mean the owner of a home with an assessed value of $100,000 would pay an extra $152 annually, or about $3 per week. The owner of a $200,000 house would pay an extra $304 annually, or about $6 per week.
The increase would cover the cost of 14 additional public safety personnel, including cross-trained firefighters, EMT personnel and paramedics. It would also cover education and training for those who are not already cross-trained, three new ambulances and the state-required equipment, and the remodeling of the fire station to serve increased staffing and new EMS capabilities.
The referendum comes in response to an unexpected invoice for about $1 million from the city’s EMS provider, Aspirus, as well as the lack of control in optimizing service to Portage residents, officials said.
At the city’s Finance/Administration Committee meeting Thursday, Haase explained that for decades the city received hospital-based EMS services from Divine Savior, which did not bill the city for the service. Aspirus, which bought the hospital in 2019, took over the EMS contract and sent the city its first hefty bill in 2022.
According to Haase, Aspirus charges $700,000 per year to run 1.5 ambulances per day and charges $1.4 million to run 2.5 to 3 ambulances.
Officials said a feasibility study showed it is possible for the city to run a cost-effective fire-based EMS system that serves the Portage area. Officials also said they expect to see EMS response times decrease by approximately two minutes due to the centralized location of the current Fire Department, and fire response times to decrease by four minutes with the addition of 14 cross-trained first responders.
The referendum question that will appear on the ballot reads:
Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of Portage for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2025, is limited to 0.817%, which results in a levy of $6,952,873. Shall the City of Portage be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2025, for the purpose of Fire Based Emergency Medical Services, by a total of 21.319%, which results in a levy of $8,435,145, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,482,272 for each fiscal year going forward?
While either opting to continue paying a provider or to create a locally controlled EMS service would likely result in budget cuts or referendums, Haase said, the choice is bigger than money.
“In my mind, this is more about the care of our citizens,” Haase said at Thursday’s Finance/Administration Committee meeting. “Either way we are going to have to deal with the cost of EMS, whether we do it or Aspirus does it. The money is going to have to come from somewhere, so its more about what’s best for the people.”
For more information about the EMS referendum visit, portagewi.gov/referendum.
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