By KAREN PARKER | County Line Editor
It’s too early for Christmas and too late for April Fools’ Day, but local municipalities have discovered that surprises occur in September, too.
The surprise came from the Village of Wilton, which announced the purchase of a new ambulance and the news that those who use the service will be asked to contribute $80,000 of the $189,419 cost.
Town of Wilton treasurer Ken Rose said he had been aware that the purchase had been under consideration, but he hadn’t realized the Wilton Village Board had OK’d the purchase in June to avoid a $20,000 increase slated for July.
The Town ofWilton had not budgeted the $18,410 it would be asked to contribute, Rose said. It could be factored into the 2016 budget, but the town is embroiled in defending itself against a lawsuit filed by Larry Ross and Scott Grenon to stop a Mathy Construction rock quarry, and the legal costs still are undetermined.
State revenue controls make it nearly impossible to significantly increase the levy to cover the costs.
“The only thing we can do is take it out of the roads budget,” Rose said.
Other municipalities face similar issues. Norwalk is being asked to contribute $11,165, a sum that Norwalk clerk Sharon Karis said had not been budgeted.
Mike Luethe, Town of Ridgeville chair, said, “I think they got the cart ahead of the horse.” The assessment had come as a surprise to him, too, as it had not happened in the past.
He conjectured that perhaps an association similar to the one for the Norwalk Fire Department should be formed so that each municipality has representation.
The current contract calls for the Wilton Ambulance Service to assume responsibility for supplying equipment, he also noted.
Computing the funds owed was based on the population of each municipality.
In addition to the special assessment, each municipality has been paying $3 per year per capita for ambulance service.
The fee is scheduled to increase to $5 per capita in 2016, but could go substantially higher if each municipality does not pay the assessment.
Ontario charges a per-capital fee of $4.80, and Tomah is at $5, Rose pointed out.
To further complicate the matter, plans are being made to purchase a second ambulance in about four years.
“They need to give us some warning on this stuff,” Luethe said.
Last week, the Norwalk Village Board deferred its decision until it could meet with the Wilton Village Board, but Rose said no meeting with all of the municipalities had yet been scheduled.
When the Kendall Ambulance Service disbanded three years ago, the Wilton Ambulance assumed coverage for the village of Kendall, along with sections of the towns of Glendale, Wellington and Clifton.
At the Kendall Village Board’s monthly meeting on Sept. 14, board president Richard Martin offered a contrasting, favorable opinion on Wilton’s plan to bill the municipalities for the ambulance costs. Saying he considered the request reasonable, Martin noted that Kendall’s contribution of $11,000 is far less than it would cost the municipality to buy an ambulance on its own.
Martin also suggested that Wilton should raise its per capita fees to cover equipment costs, adding that other area ambulance services charge substantially more, such as Camp Douglas at $13.
The Wilton Ambulance Service now serves just fewer than 5,000 people, Martin added.
The response time in Kendall is about 12–13 minutes, board members said, adding they were “very pleased” with the service.
Wilton's requested reimbursement for each municipality it serves
Village of Norwalk — $11,165
Village of Kendall — $8,246
Town of Wilton — $18,410
Town of Clifton — $4,060
Town of Wellington — $5,677
Town of Sheldon — $1,582
Town of Glendale — $3,024
Town of Ridgeville — $9,023
Village of Wilton — $8,813