Winnebago County supervisors voted to incorporate a pilot county volunteer emergency medical services program into the EMS budget after a detailed presentation and discussion.

Under the draft plan presented to the board, volunteers who sign up for county shifts would receive $5 per hour for pager/standby time and about $9 per hour for time spent responding to calls. The county would run volunteers through the county scheduling system and distribute a job description and application broadly; a $15 per-diem was proposed for shifts of 6–12 hours to encourage visibility and community engagement. The presenter described a revenue-sharing model in which 60% of revenue generated from an ambulance call would be remitted to the county when county resources are used to run that call.

Board members expressed support for the program as a pragmatic response to recurring staffing gaps, but also voiced concern that small pay differentials could encourage volunteers to shift away from their local ambulance services. The presenter said the program’s pay levels and per-diem were intentionally calibrated to avoid incentivizing volunteers to abandon local service and to support visibility of ambulances in smaller towns.

The presenter estimated the program’s direct budget exposure would be modest: roughly $50–$75 per 12-hour shift with food/per-diem, and an illustrative worst-case of about $500 per month if volunteers sat shifts and there were no calls. The board approved the motion to adopt the pilot and incorporate it into the EMS budget; staff were directed to circulate the job description, set up scheduling access and monitor costs and usage as the program rolls out.

Direct quotes in meeting: the presenter said, “If Billy wants to volunteer... he would get $5 an hour pager time. And then if he gets a call, he would get $9 an hour.” A board member who moved the motion said, “I’ll make a motion to approve the county volunteer program and incorporate it into the budget for EMS.”

What happens next: County staff will publish the job description and application, apply scheduling permissions, coordinate training/quarterly meetings as needed, and report back on enrollment, call logs and budget impact.