A proposed regional ambulance-service agreement drew a crowd and tense discussion last Wednesday night as the Town of New Glarus Board reviewed the framework for a new EMS district, then postponed the matter until a special meeting this Wednesday (tomorrow) at 5 p.m. in the conference room at Chalet Landhaus Inn, 801 Wisconsin Hwy 69, New Glarus.

The draft agreement would create a new emergency medical services district involving the Village of Belleville, Village of New Glarus, Town of New Glarus, Town of Exeter, Town of Montrose, Town of Brooklyn and Town of Oregon, with the agreement running from June 30, 2026 through Dec. 31, 2036.

The agreement, which closely follows the EMS Study that was recently presented by the Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, is more than a simple service-sharing arrangement. It lays out how the proposed district would be governed, how its annual budget would be built, how costs would be divided among member municipalities, how property and assets would be handled, and what happens if a community later wants to withdraw.

One of the most important features is the board structure. Under the draft, each participating municipality would appoint one member, and each member would have one vote. That means every municipality would have equal voting power, regardless of population, tax base or ambulance call volume. The New Glarus Fire District is also governed in a similar fashion, with a municipal-led fire district board.