CITY OF ANTIGO
FINANCE, PERSONNEL & LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD
JUNE 19, 2013
Members Present: Mayor Brandt, Alderpersons Balcerzak, Darling, T. Bauknecht, and Kapusta
Members Absent: Alderperson Kassis
Others Present: Alderpersons Beck, Bugni, D. Bauknecht, Dunn; Jon Petroskey, Fire Chief; Charley Brinkmeier, Civil Technologist/Surveyor; Kaye Matucheski, Clerk-Treasurer; Eric Roller, Police Chief/Pubic Safety Director; Ron Nye; Ron Pizl; Mark McKinney; Dave Nicholson; Rick Parilek; Richard Hafner; Mike Wetterau; Cheri L. Ritter; David J. Solin; Evan Gilling; Ross Witucki; Tyler Ignaczak; Brian Baginski; Linda Vollmar; Corey Smith; T. J. Beck; C. J. Haatvedt; Dennis Pizl; Bob Donohue; Roger Henke; Mike Kennedy; Ken Jorgenson; Frank J. Sus Jr.; and Sue McVey
This meeting of the Finance, Personnel & Legislative Committee was called to order on the above date at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall. Mayor Brandt served as Chairperson and Julie Zack, Administration Clerical Assistant, recorded the minutes thereof.
1. Approval of Minutes from the May 15, 2013 Meeting
Darling moved, Kapusta seconded, to approve the minutes of the May 15, 2013 meeting.
Carried 5-0, Absent 1.
Mayor Brandt stated there has been a request to move Item #10 up on the agenda.
10. Developers Agreement for Wetterau Wood Products Inc.
Mayor Brandt stated Mark Desotell, Director of Administrative Services included a memo, explaining that Wetterau Wood Products is constructing a new office area at their location at 1600 Deleglise Street. They are seeking assistance of up to $5,500 for the cost of tapping into the sanitary sewer and water mains that are located approximately 15 feet underground.
Mr. Desotell recommends in his memo to create a Developer Agreement, contributing $5,500 toward the project and Wetterau would guarantee the construction of the 1,152 square foot office facility. His memo noted funds would be derived from the respective water and sanitary sewer enterprise funds.
Balcerzak moved, Darling seconded, to approve the $5,500 for assisting in the cost of tapping into sanitary sewer and water mains for a new office facility at 1600 Deleglise with funding from the respective water and sanitary sewer enterprise funds. Carried 5-0, Absent 1.
RESOLUTION TO COUNCIL
Mayor Brandt stated Item #12 is being moved up on the agenda to accommodate some town chairpersons in attendance that have a meeting at 7:00 p.m.
12. Request Langlade Hospital to Take-Over Operation and Management of Ambulance Service
Mayor Brandt stated the City has been in conversations with Langlade Hospital regarding maintaining the ambulance service and maintaining it at an affordable rate. Langlade Hospital had a study performed with no additional methods uncovered to cut costs. The study actually yielded a lot of information already known such as the City of Antigo Ambulance Service is an excellent service with very qualified personnel. The EMS Task Group will review the study on June 28th.
Mayor Brandt continued, at the heart of the study is how to maintain a quality ambulance service that is affordable as many town chairpersons have commented to him on the expensive nature of the ambulance service. He noted a few years ago as part of the budgeting process there were funding cuts and the service has been maintained at the high level the customers expect but he feels future cuts that need to be made cannot be accomplished and still maintain the level of service.
Mayor Brandt noted Langlade Hospital has stated the City would need to request their help in taking over the ambulance service to avoid the perception they are attempting to put the city ambulance service out of business. Mayor Brandt noted the hospital feels they can maintain the quality of service more affordably and he does not feel that the cuts that are necessary for the City to make will guarantee the level of service will remain the same.
Mayor Brandt continued explaining the ambulance service is a business and there are companies which run ambulance services for profit; every year $700,000 of tax dollars subsidize this ambulance service to keep it running. He feels the City owes it to the taxpayers to explore the possibility of less expensive alternatives to a city ambulance service. He concluded stating he has always felt that government, whether it is city, county, state or federal, is a poor vehicle to operate a business and the ambulance service needs to be operated as a business. He noted the City is not set up to do that and this is demonstrated by the fact that we have a great ambulance service but it needs almost three quarters of a million dollars to subsidize it.
Upon inquiry by Jon Petroskey, Fire Chief, the Mayor stated he is aware that other cities, such as Wausau, still have to subsidize a private ambulance service, but he believes the amount that is currently being subsidized in Antigo needs to be less.
Upon inquiry by Alderperson Beck, Mayor Brandt stated the subsidy of $700,000 is just for the ambulance service, $355,000 paid by the City of Antigo and the ten towns that contract with the ambulance service pay $355,000.
Mayor Brandt explained the direction tonight is to forward to Council a request for approval to have the City request Langlade Hospital to look at taking over the ambulance service. There are many questions requiring answers yet and many people who must hear information regarding this item before it could be a reality. Mayor Brandt feels the process must start now as it could take up to a year and a half to make a change.
Upon inquiry by Ron Nye, Mayor Brandt stated tonight’s item is the first step in moving forward with looking at options for the ambulance service. There would be meetings with the hospital and towns as the process moves forward.
Upon inquiry by David Solin, Mayor Brandt stated there could have been meetings held before this appeared on an agenda but Langlade Hospital wanted a commitment from the City before they came forward and this is that commitment. Mayor Brandt noted this does not mean it will automatically occur but once the City moves forward, the next step will be to see what the towns have to say as partners in the ambulance service.
Upon inquiry by Cheri Ritter, Mayor Brandt stated he does not feel there will be less quality of service or vehicles available but this would be something addressed if another entity provides ambulance services.
Sue McVey, Emergency Services Manager at Langlade Hospital, read a letter into the record from David Schneider, Langlade Hospital Executive Director. She noted Mr. Schneider could not attend tonight and has asked her to represent him. Ms. McVey gave the letter to Mayor Brandt.
Upon inquiry by Alderperson Bugni, Mayor Brandt explained the City could not receive assistance from the hospital in running the ambulance service. The City can contract ambulance services from the hospital, the hospital can contract ambulance services from the City, but the hospital cannot just subsidize the ambulance service.
Upon inquiry by Alderperson Bugni, Mayor Brandt stated he contacted Mike Winter, City Attorney, and he is reviewing the law. Mayor Brandt did not believe the state allows a hospital subsidy.
Mayor Brandt stated again making this motion does not guarantee this will be the path followed, but as stated in the letter from Mr. Schneider, the hospital will only work with us on this solution if there is a request. The City owes it to the taxpayers, who are paying $700,000 to subsidize the ambulance service, to look at options for a better price and by the time the Council meets on this item, Attorney Winter will be able to explain the state and federal laws, which play a part in selecting an option.
Corey Smith, Antigo Firefighters Local 1000, stated the City of Rhinelander recently made a move in the opposite direction of what the City of Antigo is looking toward in that they were with Oneida County ambulance service and they recently began their own ambulance service. Mayor Brandt stated he did not know the details of the City of Rhinelander change in ambulance service.
Mr. Smith stated he understands the ambulance service is an expensive service but it is also a vital service and is worth the price. Mayor Brandt stated his concern is to maintain the same quality of service we now have and he does not believe we can do that within the City of Antigo and maintain the other services we have. The City can only tax to a certain level as there are levy limits in place and the City owes it to the taxpayers to look for alternatives rather than just following past practice.
Alderperson Beck stated he believes the Mayor’s objective is to destroy the medical services and fire department in the City of Antigo. Mayor Brandt stated his objective is to maintain a quality ambulance service and look at options. He feels the hospital is an option and to turn them away is a disservice to the taxpayers.
Upon inquiry by Chet Haatvedt, 911 Clermont Street, Mayor Brandt stated Langlade Hospital is not committed to anything and a request for proposal is what the City is aiming to create. Mr. Haatvedt stated the citizens deserve the opportunity to look at the requests for proposals and the proposals received, as they are the ones paying the bill and should have a voice in the process as well as the solution.
Rick Parilek, Town of Antigo, stated he has read the study results by the Ludwig group and it does not state the hospital can provide the service cheaper and from what Mr. Schneider has told him personally, the hospital is not interested in owning the ambulance service. Mr. Parilek did not believe another service could do it cheaper as they would be in the business to make a profit.
Mayor Brandt stated the Ludwig Group’s study does not have the service compared on the same number of staff, in fact they use a formula which has them using 36 EMT’s and the City runs the ambulance service on less than that now. Mayor Brandt noted Mr. Schneider has stated he did not believe the Ludwig Group had the correct number of staff necessary.
Upon inquiry by Alderperson Bugni, Mayor Brandt stated if the ambulance service was no longer a City service, the City would have to look at a volunteer fire service. He continued explaining the fire department is presently a mix of full-time, volunteer and paid-on-call members with an annual budget over $500,000. The volunteer service located three blocks away has an annual budget of $90,000 and is serving three towns. Alderperson Bugni stated there are concerns raised with having a volunteer fire department, which should be addressed. Mayor Brandt stated the volunteer services do a wonderful job.
Mr. Parilek stated the comparison could not be made with Rural Fire Control as they only have 30 to 40 fire calls a year, compared to what he thinks is three or four a day for the City of Antigo Fire Department.
Mayor Brandt clarified for the audience stating fire calls for 2012 were 119 including carbon monoxide calls and false alarms. Chief Petroskey stated there were 20 calls that were actually for a fire. Mayor Brandt stated on many occasions the Police Department are first to arrive on emergency calls and they would be able to assess the situation and respond accordingly. He did not feel a volunteer service would be called 119 times, if they were called 15 or 20 times, it would be a lot.
Mr. Smith stated he has experience on a volunteer squad and the calls for service would still exist. Mayor Brandt stated by utilizing a full-time police department the calls are less as the police would be able to respond and assess as he stated earlier.
Upon inquiry by Alderperson T. Bauknecht, Police Chief Eric Roller stated in 2012 the department came in under budget and the revenues were $100,000 over that which was projected and we had the largest amount of calls. Services were increased to include critical care, which is part of the revenue increase by close to $58,000. The department is doing what it can to increase revenue and rarely has to turn down transfers anymore. The staff has stepped up and done the things asked of them to increase revenue.
Ron Pizl, City of Antigo Firefighters Local 1000, stated he has been reading about the study and the good questions raised. He feels the citizens and alderpersons deserve to review the study before any further action takes place concerning a resolution to seek request for proposals. The Ludwig study is a very comprehensive study and a lot of information is going to come out of it.
Mayor Brandt stated the EMS Task Force will review the study results on June 28th and a motion made tonight will move the action forward to the next step which would be the July Common Council meeting.
Alderperson T. Bauknecht stated he felt this decision affecting the community as well as people’s livelihood deserved more time so the study results could be considered
Mayor Brandt reiterated, the Committee is not being asked to make a decision on the ambulance service tonight; this is to request the hospital to work with the City to look at the ambulance service. The City would consult with the 10 towns that are the City’s partners on the ambulance service and if they do not feel the hospital is a viable management group it would be over. There are a million details to be worked on and a motion tonight does not mean further action will happen other than a resolution to Common Council. Mayor Brandt noted it means we can work with the hospital on the matter because the hospital is asking the City to make the formal request before they will work more with us. Basically the hospital does not want to look like it is taking over the service; the hospital wants the City to request their help and they will then consider this whether they get the service, whether we keep the service, or whether it goes to someone else.