OUTAGAMIE COUNTY (NBC 26) — Outagamie County officials now say they cannot legally include the Village of Hortonville's ambulance service charge on property tax bills, explaining the decision that prompted separate billing to residents.
County Treasurer Rochelle Oskey said in a statement that Hortonville requested the county add a charge for third-party ambulance services to residents' property tax bills.
However, the County Corporation Counsel's review of applicable law found no authority for the county to add this charge to property tax bills.
The Wisconsin Department of Revenue also provided an opinion that Outagamie County cannot include the charge because it is not a legal charge that can be added to property tax bills.
The county's explanation comes after Hortonville residents received separate invoices for ambulance services. Village Administrator Nathan Treadwell had written to residents that the village was notified of the county's decision approximately one week before tax bills were due.
Treadwell stated in his letter that while the village believes the county doesn't have authority to dictate what may be included on village tax bills, Hortonville chose not to pursue legal action due to litigation costs and timing.
The charge represents the cost of providing Gold Cross Ambulance service availability to the village. Hortonville elected to bill residents directly for the current year while continuing discussions with the county for the coming year.
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