Public Safety Committee Meets to Discuss EMS Service

Anyone who wished to attend the Tuesday, May 17, 2016, Public Safety meeting in Monticello may have had a difficult time doing so. First, although it was supposed to be the “Public Safety Committee” meeting, no such committee was listed on the village’s website (the name has since been changed on the website). Even if someone knew it had been changed from the Police Committee, that listing said meetings were held the 4th Tuesday of the month. As it turned out, a committee member had a scheduling conflict and the date was changed. However, that information is not available on the village’s website. The calendar of events does not include any committee meetings, although, according to village hall staff, meetings are posted in three places around the village. Finally the meeting was scheduled for 4:30 p.m., in the afternoon, which can make it very difficult for residents to attend, since many residents may not be home from work yet. In spite of all of that, more than 20 people crowded into the Village Hall boardroom, and some stood in the hallway for the Public Safety committee meeting. Most people indicated that they were there to let the committee know how they felt about the possible change from New Glarus Area EMS to Green County EMS. The meeting began on time, with committee member Greg Bettin absent. However, as soon as the committee finished approving the Police schedule, Chairman Larry Strause announced that no one would be allowed to speak except for a representative of NGAEMS and board members.
Josh Wescott, of New Glarus Area EMS, joined the board at the table and thanked the committee for inviting the group to speak to them. “New Glarus Area EMS is proud to have served the village of Monticello for over 40 years,” he said.
Wescott also noted that the Village of Monticello is better served by NGAEMS than by GCEMS. “We can get there the fastest.”
New Glarus Area EMS charges municipalities $18.78 per capita, and by law must charge the same amount to each municipality. However, Wescott pointed out that the service does not come to municipalities to ask for more money for equipment or new ambulances. He told the committee that NGAEMS has added a second ambulance, and that addition, plus staffing, allows NGAEMS to get to patients quickly and get them to which ever hospital they wish to go to, efficiently.
Wescott also gave the committee a copy of a memo from Mike Gengler, Town of Mount Pleasant Chair, dated May 11, 2016, in which he noted that he had spoken to GCEMS Chief Dan Nufer and Nufer had said that GCAEMS has encouraged the Village of Monticello to continue with NGAEMS because run times to pickup are assumed to be less from New Glarus.
Wescott also answered a question put to the service by a Monticello Village Board member in an earlier Village Board meeting who wondered about Medicaid/Medicare payments and the New Glarus Home. The board member wondered if the NGAEMS may be subsidizing the Village of New Glarus since the other municipalities do not have nursing homes. Wescott presented a handout that covered the past three years. That handout stated that in 2015, out of 274 calls in New Glarus, there were 151 calls that were billed to Medicare/Medicaid. Out of that there were 63 calls at the New Glarus Home and 62 of those had supplemental insurance. In New Glarus 8%, or $21,823.66, of the calls had a balance that was sent to collections.
In Monticello, out of 68 calls, 33 were billed to Medicaid/Medicare. As for calls that were sent to collections, that number was 13%, for $7,048.05.
There were surprisingly few questions for Wescott and he asked the committee repeatedly if there was anything that NGAEMS could do to help preserve the services to the Village of Monticello. He was told that a public hearing would be held “probably some time in June” with representatives from Green County EMS.
Those in the audience were informed that they would be able to ask questions of both services at that time.