An increase in how much the Oconto Falls Area Joint Ambulance Service wants next year from the city of Oconto Falls has City Administrator Peter Wills struggling to figure out where the extra funding will come from.
In a memo to the city from the ambulance service, the service is asking for $128,515 for 2027, with a 3% cost of living increase added in for 2028 and 2029. The fee is based 60% on the city’s equalized value, which comes to $103,087; 20% on the population value, which is $140,884; and the remainder on the service’s run volume, which is valued at $192,430.
According to the memo, the run volume does not include calls to nursing homes, standing by at Oconto Falls High School football games or being available at the farmers market, National Night Out, parades and other public events, as that would result in even higher costs for the city.
Besides the city, the ambulance service also provides service to Lena and the towns of Oconto Falls, Morgan and Stiles. The city has the highest call volume with 270 in 2025 and 157 in just the first half of 2026. If nursing homes were included in the city’s assessment, there would be an additional 143 calls last year and 105 so far this year.
The ambulance service is looking at having to purchase a new ambulance within the next three years, according to the memo. It says the oldest ambulance running in Oconto Falls was manufactured in 2003, and a new one to replace it is estimated at $300,000. Also, new Lifepak monitors are needed for all ambulances, which comes with a $54,587 price tag.
Wills presented his concerns about the fee increase to the Oconto Falls Common Council during its Oct. 13 meeting. He said the proposal increases the city’s annual payments by more than $43,000, but the levy limit set by the state of Wisconsin is only expected to go up $186 for the city next year, leaving him to figure out what would need to be cut from the city budget.
“I’ve tried going through other contracts to find some other savings,” Wills said. “I haven’t found $43,000 so far.”
By law, the city is required to have an ambulance service serving residents, Wills said.
“My concern is not from the services,” he said. “It is just our ability to pay it.”
Alderman Devin Wirtz did have one complaint about the ambulance service, saying he heard that it’s absent from some training sessions put on by Oconto County.
“It should always be there, because training is good for everybody,” Wirtz said. “Especially if they’re asking for that kind of money, there better be a handful of people learning.”
Wills said that the city has had tight budget years in 2024 and 2025, so the city has already had to cut more than it would like. He said he planned to talk to the ambulance service’s board of directors to see if there was any wiggle room to bring the price tag down.
The ambulance service has tried to cut costs as much as possible over the past five years, according to Dani Sonesen, who sits on the board as a representative of the Town of Stiles. She noted that everybody’s trying to find extra funding somewhere, but the ambulance can’t cut any more costs without impacting the service it can provide.
“If the city council deems that it’s not in the best interest of its residents to continue membership with the Oconto Falls Area Ambulance Service, by all means, that’s your prerogative as a member,” Sonesen said. “Unfortunately, inflation has been a (expletive deleted) for everybody, and we did what we could to trim.”
Wirtz took exception to Sonesen’s claim that Oconto Falls is not looking to continue its relationship with the ambulance service.
“I think to say that us on the council do not want to provide a service for the Oconto Falls citizens is a little harsh,” he said. “I think we want to provide the best services all around, whether it’s the street department, ambulance or anything else. The only question is if there’s a way to negotiate the rate or maybe a way to pro-rate a little less the first year.”
No action was taken to approve the contract. It will be brought back to the council in November.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
