The city of Shawano will be giving almost $360,000 to Shawano Ambulance Services in 2027, almost 10 times what it had been giving more than two decades ago.
However, the amount could have been much higher, as the ambulance service is being required to charge a per capita rate in accordance with Wisconsin Department of Administration Demographic Services Center population estimates.
According to a Sept. 23 letter from Patrick Trinko, Shawano Ambulance’s operations director, the company will not be utilizing the estimate for this year and instead will work with the 2020 estimate, which is 9,242.
“We are hopeful that you recognize our efforts, as surrounding paramedic level services are charging rates ranging from the mid $40s to as high as $68.84 per capita,” Trinko wrote. “After careful consideration, we have set our 2027 rate at $38.83.”
Trinko added that Shawano Ambulance will limit increases only to what is necessary to maintain staffing, equipment and operations. Using the 2027 estimate would have imposed a significant burden on the city because of state-mandated revenue limits. The latest estimated population for Shawano, according to the DOA, is 9,679.
City Administrator Eddie Sheppard told the Shawano Common Council at its Nov. 11 meeting that the city hasn’t updated its agreement with Shawano Ambulance since 1992.
“In order to update that service agreement, it’s going to be a year-to-year contract,” Sheppard said. “We wanted to get that updated agreement in place so we’d have something that’s actually enforceable moving forward.”
Sheppard noted that he and other staff members were able to work with Trinko to get more favorable rates, noting that the state’s revenue limits have not kept up with the city’s growth in recent years.
“We’re trying to preserve those cost increases a little bit from going up too fast,” Sheppard said.
Mayor Bruce Milavitz praised Sheppard’s efforts to keep the ambulance service in the city while helping it to maintain its operation.
“The staff working with Shawano Ambulance did a great job to make sure we can get, for this next year, a rate that’s fair as possible,” Milavitz said. “Everybody’s costs are going up, including ours.”
