Fire chief cites Medicare transport reimbursement review; police outline school-safety steps; clerk warns sewer balances may go to tax roll

Chief Poplar told the council the city applied for a new state program that increases Medicare reimbursement for ground emergency medical transport and that the city was selected for a review (one of 40 departments chosen). The chief described the process as a review rather than a punitive audit and said it should result in additional Medicare reimbursement for the city, helping to cover ambulance-transport costs.

Captain Blunt briefed the council on public-safety preparations for the coming weeks. He said a recent Aug. 29 football game at a local field involving the Milwaukee Academy of Science and another team resulted in a large fight involving students and some parents. Because the Milwaukee Academy of Science team will return to play St. Francis on Friday, the police department will place officers in parking lots, around the stands and in the crowd to deter and respond to disorder. Blunt also said officers continue to monitor school traffic and will move from warnings to citations if drivers do not comply. He promoted an Oct. 1 “Coffee with a Cop” event and reminded the council the Lakefront Marathon is Oct. 5, the same day as the food-truck event.

City Clerk Anne said the city will send third-quarter sewer bills and include a reminder that any outstanding balances as of June 30 will be rolled to the tax roll. She also said she will be out of the office to train new clerks in Rhinelander on writing resolutions and ordinances.

All three department-head updates were informational reports to the council; no formal council action on these items was recorded in the meeting transcript.