Several residents used the public‑comment period on July 7 to urge Germantown trustees to retain community sirens and to participate actively in county discussions about regional emergency medical services and billing changes.

Bob Finkstein, who lives near the sirens, said he is opposed to decommissioning them and told trustees many elderly residents do not rely on cell phones for alerts: “The fact that everybody has a cell phone is not a fact.” Finkstein said he had worked with the police lieutenant to determine whether the system was functional and that previous bids to repair or replace sirens (noted in public discussion as approximately $100,000 and $22,000–$23,000) had been rejected.

Melanie Smythe and other commenters raised a new state law provision that allows counties to exceed levy limits for a shared EMS system and said Washington County has formed a subcommittee of fire chiefs pursuing recommendations; Smythe suggested Germantown participate so the village can influence outcomes. Skye Duffly also asked for clarity on proposed ambulance fee increases in the packet: Duffly said many fees appeared to have doubled and asked whether the village had compared charges with neighboring municipalities and whether fee increases would shift costs to private insurers or taxpayers.

Why it matters: residents expressed concern about both immediate safety communications (sirens) and broader EMS governance and payment changes that could alter ambulance billing, county‑level service choices and the village’s financial exposure.

Officials said they are attending Washington County regional EMS meetings but characterized the county presentations as “extremely preliminary.” No formal action on sirens or ambulance fee schedules was taken at the July 7 meeting; trustees and staff asked for more information and comparison data from other jurisdictions before making decisions.

Ending: Trustees requested follow‑up information; no votes were held on siren decommissioning or EMS fee changes during this meeting.