Photo by Kirsten Zoellner
The City of Rushford has always had a dedicated volunteer ambulance crew. The numbers of willing persons is dwindling across the country, but the demand for their work is increasing. At the December 12 meeting, the council moved forward the first review for an assistant director/emergency medical service training coordinator for the department. By creating the new position, the city hopes to prepare additional staff, add continuity, and smooth the transition of future management.
“Finding volunteers is one thing, but finding volunteers during the work week is something else,” explained City Administrator Tony Chladek. “We’re at a point where we eventually won’t have daytime volunteers or limited personnel.” While the city could consider hiring for ambulatory services, adding the position is currently the most cost effective method.
The expectation of the position is coverage during the weekend and daytime ambulance calls. Adding on the positon will not affect the budget for next year. City Clerk Kathy Zacher explained that no tax funds go towards the ambulance budget and that the service is totally self-supporting. However, with more expenses, less profit will go towards future needs, including equipment.
“That isn’t to say, and I think it’s fair to point out that, may need to look at some other ambulance streams,” added Chladek, noting possible future needs. “It’s not the message we want to say that we’re never going to have to review funding.”
By creating the position, the city will need to fill it, even if the department develops a fully available crew in the future. The union will require filling it unless there’s a reasonable, approved explanation for it not to be. “I don’t see that happening, but I believe there’s some discretion,” said Chladek.
The next step is sending the job description to the union for review and approval. If approved, the council need to vote again for final approval.
The council also reviewed two Requests for Qualifications for the airport engineer contract. Two firms, Mead & Hunt and Bolton & Menk, responded to the request. Mead & Hunt is the city’s current airport engineer.
“We’ve worked with Mead & Hunt for several years. They’re working with us currently on the rebuild. It feels uncomfortable switching in the middle of this, so I recommend staying with them,” said Mayor Terri Benson.
“I think we’d end up spending a lot of time and money catching the other up, especially in the middle of a project,” said Councilor Sally Ryman. The council voted unanimously to continue to contract with Mead & Hunt.
The council briefly discussed the construction of a replacement T-hangar at the airport. As detailed by Matt Wagner, Mead & Hunt Senior Project Manager, Olympic Builders of Holmen, Wis., was awarded the contract. Later, they requested additional funding for the five-unit hangar due to increasing costs.
“While state and federal grants were being processed, a contract was sent to Olympic on June 17 for signature. Olympic notified the city October 7 that there would be additional costs related to price increases since the contract was not executed within the bid hold period,” stated Wagner’s letter. The total cost is $28,357 for material and labor increases necessary to move the project forward. The contractor requested an extension of the project completion date from July 31, 2023, to October 1, 2023.
Project funding splits 90% federal, 5% state, and 5% city. Mead & Hunt is awaiting a response from the FAA and the state regarding the cost increase.
After several months of discussion, the council approved the final budget and proposed tax levy for 2023 at $1,082,255, a 6.42% increase over 2022. The increase is not necessarily a 6.42% increase in individual property taxes. They depend on other factors, including changes in taxable market value.
The city’s tax rate will drop from 80.69 to 73.24. Ideally, a rate between 80 and 85 is the goal, but an increase in the market value dropped the figure. In comparison to other 14 cities in the county, Rushford has the sixth lowest tax rate. While it’s indicative of overall market values, Rushford being the fourth highest in the county, it also varies due to the amount of public services each city provides for their community. Rushford currently receives the third highest Local Government Aid dispersal in the county due to the number of public services offered.
“It’s important to note, as your property increases, your homestead exclusion decreases. That swing makes a big difference, stated Benson. Fillmore County did on-site property evaluations for Rushford in 2021.
“The average market value increased 16%. I’m thinking that’s maybe what it was all over town,” added Zacher. “They told us things were going up. This is where we are.”
A closed meeting was held prior to the regular council meeting to discuss the potential purchase of the former Farmers Win Cooperative property in downtown Rushford. The city rejected the new counter offer and withdrew the formal purchase offer. There was no further discussion held during the public portion of the meeting.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is Tuesday, December 27, at 6:30 p.m. at city hall. Please note the day change to accommodate the federal Christmas holiday observance. The public is encouraged to attend.
Leave a Reply