Central Fire presents budget to municipalities

Rural township residents in the Central Fire and EMS District will be asked to pick up a slightly bigger share of the tab for fire protection next year under a proposed budget approved by the district board last Thursday.

Of the seven municipalities in the district, three of them will see decreases in their payments next year – the cities of Abbotsford and Colby and the village of Dorchester – while the townships of Mayville, Colby, Hull and Holton will pay about the same or a little more than what they paid this year.

All together, the seven municipalities will pay a total of $289,600 to the district in 2026 under a proposal that will come before each of the councils and boards at their September meetings. This represents a collective increase of $3,000, or 1 percent, over this year.

Under the district’s bylaws, municipalities representing at least 66 percent of the district’s total equalized property value must approve the budget for it to be officially adopted. If not enough boards and councils approve the budget as presented, it goes back to the district board for possible revisions.

Three of the four townships will be expected to pay more next year because the equalized property values within their boundaries are growing at a substantially faster rate than those in the cities of Abbotsford and Colby and the village of Dorchester.

“The townships are outgrowing the cities,” said board chair Larry Oehmichen.

The town of Colby, having seen its value go up by 16 percent since last year, will see the largest increase in its contribution to the district at 2.1 percent, or $638. By comparison, the city of Colby will see a 6.1 decrease, or $3,184, down to $48,519. Abbotsford and Dorchester will also pay less next year after their growth in equalized values fell behind the towns.

Overall, the two cities will still pay the lion’s share of the district’s charges, at nearly $125,000, while the other five entities contribute about $165,000 combined. This becomes important when it comes to approving the budget, since all it takes is the two city councils and two other municipal boards to accept the proposal for it to pass the 66 percent threshold.

Other revenue sources include $375,000 in projected charges for ambulance calls, $19,000 from the village of Unity and town of Frankfort, $28,000 in 2% dues collected from fire insurance policies, and $16,000 in fire service fees. All together, the district is expected to take in $737,600 in revenue next year, not counting a $36,000 grant from the state’s Funding Assistance Program designated for specific EMS expenses.

On the expense side, the district will spend an estimated $391,000 on payroll next year, with $210,000 allocated for EMTs and $115,000 going to firefighters. District chief Joe Mueller will continue to be paid $21,600 for the year, and EMS chief Travis Nixdorf will see an increase of a little over $100 per month.

EMT Lin Mueller asked how the district could justify the raise for Nixdorf when other officers are not receiving raises for the work they do. Oehmichen said Nixdorf has always done a good job of running the EMT service and believes he deserves a modest raise at this point.

“I felt what he asked for was a pretty small amount,” he said.

When Lin Mueller pointed out all of the extra work that battalion chiefs and captains do, it was noted that a lot of that work is done for free outside their recorded hours.

“It’s pretty much not in their nature to charge for everything they do,” Chief Mueller said.

Board member Norton Rinehart said those who do extra work for the district need to fill out a time slip if they want to get paid for the work they do.

Another line item that raised questions was the $14,000 allocated for heating the district’s three stations in 2026. Rinehart pointed out that only $6,400 had been spent on heating bills last year and wondered if the board couldn’t knock a few thousand off that line item.

Other board members, however, felt it was better to be over-prepared for the weather than to come up short.

“If we get an extremely cold winter, we’ve got our butts covered,” said board member Jim Weix. “This is thinking ahead.”

Oehmichen also pointed out that he increased the annual contribution for capital purchases by $10,000, from $50,000 to $60,000, in preparation for some major vehicle replacements in the future. Looking ahead, he estimates the district will have to spend at least $2 million by 2038 just to meet the bare minimum in equipment standards.

These expenses include an estimated $400,000 for a new pumper-tanker between 2029 and 2030, $100,000 to $250,000 for replacement chassis on ambulances between 2030 and 2034 and $1.5 million for a new fire engine by 2038.

“These prices are astronomical,” he said.

Other business

■ The board voted to purchase nine sets of turnout gear, at $3,521 per set for helmet, coat and pants, from Fire Safety, which submitted the lowest bid. The total cost of $31,698 was a budgeted expense for 2025.

■ Chief Mueller said the district responded to 87 EMS calls and seven fire calls over the past month. The total number of ambulance calls is at 545 for the year, which is a little behind average, but Mueller believes the district will “catch up” by the end of the year.