Cottage Grove tables regional EMS study; Deer Grove EMS budget stalls over full‑time office manager

Cottage Grove, Wis. — At the Village of Cottage Grove Board of Trustees meeting on Oct. 6, trustees voted to table consideration of the village’s fire/EMS study request for proposals and directed staff to include a $40,000 placeholder in the administration’s recommended 2026 budget. The meeting also included an extended discussion of the Deer Grove EMS Commission’s 2026 budget, which was approved by the commission with funding for a new 40‑hour office manager position even though the commission did not formally create the job; several trustees and commissioners urged a smaller interim position or other safeguards until a regional study is completed.

The RFP for a fire/EMS operational study was released in August and closed in September without receiving formal proposals, though staff reported that three firms indicated interest but did not submit full bids. Village Administrator Cameron said, “my recommendation conservatively would be 40,000,” describing that figure as a placeholder to carry in the draft budget so the study could proceed if the Village and neighboring municipalities choose to do so. Trustee Severson moved to table the item to the next meeting; Trustee Severson’s motion, seconded by Trustee Murphy, carried.

Why it matters: trustees said the study could influence staffing, station configuration and intermunicipal EMS alignments in eastern Dane County. Cameron and trustees raised the possibility that decisions by nearby jurisdictions could affect the Village’s scope and timeline for the study; one trustee noted a Cambridge meeting on EMS service scheduled for the week after the Village meeting.

Deer Grove EMS budget debate

The meeting included a long report and discussion about the Deer Grove EMS Commission’s proposed 2026 budget. Commissioners at the Deer Grove meeting approved a budget that includes funding for a full‑time (40‑hour) office manager, but the commission did not separately create or authorize filling the position. Several members of the Village Board and Deer Grove commissioners expressed concern that creating a full‑time administrative position before a regional EMS study could commit ongoing wages and benefits that would be difficult to reverse.

Commissioner Paula said she would not support the budget as presented if the 40‑hour position remained the plan, arguing it was not “fiscally responsible” to fund a new full‑time post without a defined plan and more discussion. She offered a compromise to convert the request to a 20‑hour position while the study and facility discussions proceed. Commissioner Pete proposed that, if needed midyear, the position could be converted to full time and paid from the Deer Grove fund balance so the municipalities would not need an immediate additional levy. Chief Lang (Deer Grove EMS) said the request is based on two years of workload data and described administrative tasks the office manager would handle, including increased billing and reimbursement oversight.

Officials asked the commission and chief to produce supplemental materials for the Village’s budget review process: a cost‑to‑continue (status‑quo) budget, a 20‑hour scenario, and the 40‑hour scenario approved by the commission; percent‑of‑effort allocations for the listed duties; and comparisons with similar services in neighboring communities. Trustees noted the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) governing Deer Grove EMS requires the commission to submit a budget by Oct. 1 and that the Village, Deerfield and the Town of Cottage Grove must eventually act in alignment.

Process and next steps

Cameron said the administration will include the commission‑approved budget in the draft materials for the Village’s budget review committee and will attach the supplemental scenarios. Village staff and the chief agreed to collect comparative staffing data from other services and to provide the requested breakdowns prior to the budget review meeting. The Deer Grove EMS Commission is expected to revisit the position on its next agenda; the Village’s budget review and workshop schedule will consider any commission revisions before final action.

Quotations and attributions in this story come from the meeting transcript and the participants listed below. The Village took no final action to create the Deer Grove office manager position at the Oct. 6 meeting; the board’s formal action that evening was to table the village’s EMS study RFP and to carry the placeholder budget amount forward.