Musings from the Mayor
People sometimes ask me (and to be perfectly honest, I even ask myself) why I like being involved in local government. There are many difficult questions, discussions, and decisions. Answers are not easy, and decisions are not always popular. In our current culture, all ‘government’ (federal, state and local) often gets lumped together and deemed wasteful and incompetent. But I believe that there are many good and important things your city government does very well. One of the most compelling is that we take care of people when disaster strikes. Our city provides critical services like fire and ambulance coverage for the community. These services are particularly on my mind as the City Council meets with township representatives this week to discuss service agreements and how we can efficiently and effectively fund fire and ambulance services. The Council also has serious upcoming discussions about a combined fire and ambulance building. None of these are easy discussions. Emergency services are both necessary and expensive. Even as we may have different ideas about how to best manage or provide services, I think it is so very important to recognize that everyone has the same basic desire. We want to take care of our neighbors when they need it.
Emergency services are supported by tax dollars, which means that we must be vigilant about how we spend and allocate that money. Our City staff has done extensive research and has gathered a wealth of information to assist the Council in making good decisions. Winthrop is very fortunate to have fire and ambulance departments that are functioning well as we have these discussions. We are not in crisis mode, as some communities are, with critically limited staffing or large gaps in coverage. That is a real advantage as we discuss how to continue to provide emergency services. From everything I have seen, there is no better way to provide efficient services than to support and maintain our local departments. Outsourcing might be an option, but it does not seem to be cost-effective or efficient.
Twenty years ago, fire and ambulance departments did not cause the budget challenges we are facing today, but changes in Medicare and Medicaid funding and increasing costs of medication and supplies for Ambulance and the cost of equipment and increased regulation for the Fire Department has made those departments more difficult to fund. The discussions with township representatives will center around how Winthrop can continue to provide services for them while sharing the tax burden equitably. I would invite anyone who is interested to attend the City Council work session Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. Representatives from the townships will be there, and we plan to have thoughtful and in-depth discussions about how we can continue to take care of our neighbors.