OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — After the Oshkosh City Council voted in early July to cut EMS to surrounding municipalities, Omro and other communities are coming together to find a solution before the end of the year.
- On July 8, Oshkosh City Council voted unanimously to cut EMS for surrounding municipalities beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
- Several of the impacted municipalities formed an intergovernmental agreement to find a solution together.
- The City of Omro is planning to house an EMS station in one of its buildings and prepares to double its budget for EMS.
The City of Oshkosh has provided ambulance services for the Towns of Algoma, Black Wolf, Nekimi, Omro, Poygan, Rushford, Utica and Winneconne, Village of Winneconne and the City of Omro for several years.
This month, the council voted to end the agreement, citing resource and staffing shortages.
"It's a tough decision, but I do think it's one we have to move forward with," deputy mayor Joe Stephenson said at the June 24 council meeting. "We've tried to kind of maneuver this thing a handful of times... and at the end of the day, for me, this is really a staffing issue. Even if we are getting those costs, even if we're getting the increased costs, we're not finding the staff be able to do this. And we're also stretching our existing Fire Department thin."
The decision gives the impacted municipalities less than six months to find a solution.
“They have to take care of their own first, and unfortunately, we’re getting cut," Omro council member David Wiese says. "Can’t really be upset with them because I can’t control them.”
Omro city administrator Brandon Hennes says while he hoped for a longer transition, he has been preparing for this possibility since the fall of 2023.
“The pressure is on, we’re trying to think of everything," he says.
Hennes says the City of Omro, and the Towns of Winneconne, Omro, Poygan, Utica, Black Wolf and Nekimi have entered an intergovernmental agreement to find a solution together.
"We know collectively that having one service provider service the entire area, with the number of runs and calls, would make the most financial sense," he says.
Hennes says the IGA will need to create two EMS stations across all the municipalities, and one will be placed in Omro.
"Due to the size of our community against the rest of those within the intergovernmental group... we know that we have the largest run volume and call data within here, so it only made sense for us to evaluate where would a provider be based within here [Omro]," Hennes says.
Their plan is to renovate a city building on Superior Street. It's currently being used for public works storage, but Hennes says it was used for EMS in the 90s.
Hennes says they estimate renovations will cost between $35-50,000.
The IGA would then hire an outside EMS company– such as Superior, Lifestar or Gold Cross– that would house its own vehicles and staff at the stations.
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Weise was a volunteer first responder in Omro for 25 years. He says he's been communicating with the Omro Fire Department throughout the process.
"Everybody is concerned, all the first responders are very concerned about what's going on," he says.
Weise says the change will be a big blow to the Omro city budget.
"Really wasn't something that we were hopeful for, but it is what it is and we need to address it as soon as possible," he says.
Hennes says due to state levy laws, they can’t just raise property taxes to pay for the new EMS.
“We can only increase our levy through net new construction, and last year Omro’s net new construction was .872%, that equated to a $13,000 increase," he says.
Another option, however, could be introducing a storm water utility fee, which would then free up general funds for EMS.
Hennes says they budgeted to pay the City of Oshkosh $120,000 for EMS, but now, he says, that cost could double.
"It's looking at our services and saying, what don't we need, what can we cut back on," he says. "Coming budget season, there's going to be tough decisions unfortunately."
Hennes says they don't have enough time to set up their own, in-house EMS without using a third party company.
