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Last week Croswell EMS Director Jeff Dawson briefed representatives of eight townships and villages on the proposed ambulance authority.

He provided the government officials with the details of the proposed authority and asked them to let him know if they want to be part of it. The EMS wants to know within 30 days so they can start the process of getting an attorney to draw boundaries for the ambulance district and put together some ballot language.

Dawson said the plan is to place a proposal for a half a mill on the August Primary Election ballot to fund ambulance service in the area. According to the county treasurer's office, that would bring in about $291,000 with 2007 figures.

Dawson said the service is short-staffed and would have to add two more full time EMTs, but Dawson did not indicate they would need another ambulance.

Currently he told the group they have two full service rigs and one basic ambulance.

They have not discussed how the authority would be run, but Dawson assumes it would be one vote per township or village.

He said Croswell is willing to sign off the ambulance service and equipment, and that the city council is not going to ask the authority to buy it.

"The villages and townships say they can't pull any more out of their budgets, but they want the service. They can't afford it," stated Dawson.

Representatives of Applegate, Lexington and Carsonville, as well as Fremont, Worth, Sanilac and Washington townships attended, in addition to a resident of Bridgehampton Township. Dawson said no one was there from Buel or Lexington townships or Port Sanilac, but they have indicated an interest in an authority. These are the areas Croswell EMS already serves, either under contract or through mutual aid.

However, Port Sanilac, Carsonville, and Sanilac and Washington townships have been pursuing an ambulance in their area and have been talking to federal authorities about the possibility of grant funding for an ambulance. Sanilac Township Supervisor William Noelke said they have not heard anything back from their grant contact, but they have to decide if they are better off going it alone, with the other three adjacent communities or joining the Croswell Authority.

Sanilac County Medical Control, which many people assumed funded ambulance services because tax bills label the millage as ambulance, actually pays for training and equipment and establishes procedures for ambulance personnel.

The Croswell EMS has been running at a deficit for years, and spent over a year negotiating a new contract with Worth Township and other communities.