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Towns press for changes as Sawyer County reviews ambulance service, staffing and response times
Summary
Seven towns have contracted a consultant to study EMS services and cost-sharing; committee members said staffing shortages and funding limits constrain response-time improvements.
Sawyer County officials told the Administrative Committee that seven towns have contracted a consultant through a state innovation planning grant to study ambulance/EMS services, response times, radio issues and cost-sharing; the consultant is collecting run reports and staffing data from county ambulance leadership.
County staff and committee members said some towns—Edgewater and Sand Lake among those discussed—had asked to be removed from county ambulance service. Officials explained that towns cannot unilaterally leave county levied services; towns may contract for different fire or EMS providers but remain on county levies for services like EMS unless the county board acts.
Committee discussion focused on response times and staffing shortages. County staff said the county averages roughly 2,000 calls per year (about six calls a day) with three full-time rigs operating now (two based near Hayward and one on Ojibwe lands). Staff noted the county has been increasing hours on a third truck (the “power truck”) to full-time, which has expanded coverage. They also said prior studies recommended centralizing rigs based on run locations and warned that shorter response times would require additional ambulances and staff, which would increase costs.
County staff described friction when multiple services respond to the same call and said an innovation planning grant’s 10% cost-savings target could conflict with state maintenance-of-effort rules for shared revenues that require stable funding and staffing levels for EMS, fire and law enforcement.
Committee members said volunteer/on-call coverage in some townships historically failed to produce crews when paged; as a result, the county moved toward more full-time staffing. Members discussed that recruiting and retaining certified personnel is difficult: the county helped three employees obtain paramedic certification last year but those staff received outside job offers after certification.
Committee staff pledged cooperation with the consultant and said they had provided run-time reports and staffing information. No formal action was taken; staff will continue to participate in the study and bring any recommendations back to public safety and the county board.
