By Michael S. Hoey
CORRESPONDENT
The Town of Delavan board approved a resolution designating three officials as primary EMS shared services contacts for the town on Dec. 19. The board also voiced support for a county-wide fore/EMS study regarding potential shared services.
Supervisor Bill Thummel said the town will be conducting long-term strategic planning in 2024 and it would be prudent to consider if the town was interested in shared services for efficiency and cost savings before that planning begins.
He said the town needs to consider if it is practical and feasible to merge with a neighboring municipality and if the town should go down that road if it believes so.
Thummel made the motion that passed unanimously to approve the resolution. The resolution established that a board member who serves on the Fire and Rescue Commission, the fire chief, and the town administrator serve as the primary EMS shared service contacts for the town.
The board also approved a resolution expressing support for a county-wide study on shared service options by the Wisconsin Policy Forum. The town will supply data for the study but the county will pay for it.
Administrator John Olson made sure the board was aware that he made part of the resolution that the board would participate in the study contingent on other municipalities that border the town also participating.
Olson said that he does not think all of the town’s neighboring communities need to participate in order for the study to be worthwhile, but if none of them are there would not be any point in the town participating. Some discussion was had about Elkhorn possibly not participating.
“The public has been asking for this,” Chairman Mary Knipper said. “It is clear there is support for this across the board.”
Knipper said the Fire and Rescue Committee recommended support for the study as a good move for the county. She said the study can help determine if there is duplication of services and/or equipment and help municipalities decide if mergers make sense.
