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Towns press for EMS changes; county cites staffing limits and ongoing consultant study
Summary
Seven towns contracted a consultant with an innovation planning grant to study EMS operations, response times and cost-sharing; Sawyer County officials said staffing shortages, state maintenance-of-effort rules and funding constraints limit options for faster response times.
Several towns have raised concerns about ambulance response times and operational coverage, and seven towns contracted a consultant under a state innovation planning grant to study EMS services, Sawyer County officials said. The consultant’s scope includes run reports, response times, staffing, radio issues and cost-sharing arrangements.
County administration told the committee towns including Edgewater and Sand Lake had asked to be removed from county ambulance service; administrators said towns and municipalities cannot unilaterally remove themselves from county levies that fund services. The county said towns are free to contract for fire or EMS services but remain part of county levy-funded services such as EMS and law enforcement.
Administrator Andy Alvarado and other speakers said the planning grant expects participating municipalities to identify ways to reduce costs by about 10 percent to be competitive for additional innovation grant funds. Alvarado said he was skeptical that a planning process that aims for 10% savings can meet state maintenance-of-effort requirements for services such as EMS, law enforcement and fire.
County staff described persistent workforce shortages: the county averages roughly 2,000 EMS calls a year (about six calls per day) and currently operates three full-time ambulances — two in Hayward and one in Ojibwe — with additional on-call coverage in other towns. Officials said recruiting and retaining paramedics is difficult; trainees often receive offers elsewhere upon certification. The county has increased hours on a third ‘power’ truck in Hayward to boost daytime coverage.
Committee members asked whether population growth or other factors had materially changed needs since a 2017 study; administration said calls have grown modestly but not dramatically. The county pledged to cooperate with the consultant and to provide run-time and staffing data for the review. No policy changes were made at the committee meeting; the study is ongoing and its results may inform future board action.
