NEMSD board of directors work on benefits package to start staffing district

Northwoods Emergency Medical Services District (NEMSD) board of directors president John Hanson said the most important item the board of directors worked on during its Dec. 10 meeting was a benefit package that will be offered to future employees.

NEMSD is a district recently formed by the consolidation of four northwest Vilas County towns’ volunteer emergency medical services (EMS). Those towns are Boulder Junction, Manitowish Waters, Presque Isle and Winchester.

“So that will allow us to start interviewing candidates, which I think is going to happen (next week or the following week),” Hanson said. “But the idea is to start doing that and see if we can start employing people, and, if that happens and we get enough people in play, hopefully we can be operational before the end of January (2025).”

Strategic Management & Consulting, a Wisconsin-based EMS and fire consulting group, was hired by the four towns roughly two years ago to assist in setting up the district. 

So far, NEMSD has hired a chief, Jason Joling, and assistant chief Jessie Mabie.

Mutual aid and intercept agreement with Oneida County

The NEMSD board of directors also discussed a mutual aid and intercept agreement proposed by Oneida County to each of the four townships. 

“None of the four towns have signed that agreement with Oneida County,” Hanson said. “So a letter was sent to them back in November with our position and we haven’t had a response back from them yet. The position … that was stated in the letter, was that they should be negotiating with the new district on reaching an agreement and we think mutual aid would be the proper way to do it, and it would be a benefit to them.”

Some Vilas County towns in the Lakeland area have expressed displeasure in what Oneida County has been proposing with its emergency intercept agreement renewals because of the increased cost.

Hanson said the proposal for each of the four towns under NEMSD were asked to pay Oneida County $1,800 per intercept.

For more information

The website, northwoodsems.org, is up and running now and additional contact information can be found there.

Trevor Greene may be reached via email at [email protected].