Though it won’t be appearing on the ballot this year, Millstadt Ambulance Service is planning to organize an independent ambulance district with approval from voters, providing improved funding for a department servicing a wide area with limited resources.

Millstadt EMS made the announcement late last year on its Facebook page, though that post has since been taken down as the department has been planning to pursue the change in the future.

An overview of the department’s plan can be found at millstadtems.com, and EMS Chief Jennifer Goetz also spoke with the Republic-Times to explain the impact establishing an independent ambulance district could have for the community.

Regarding the department’s past, Millstadt EMS has seen several steps in its development over the years, beginning as a basic life support service until upgrading to an advanced life support service in 2013. The department found a home in its current facility back in 2018.

As Goetz explained, the department serves a substantial area beyond the village. Along with providing mutual aid for other nearby ambulance services, Millstadt responders also handle calls for many unincorporated and rural areas outside Waterloo, Columbia, Dupo, Smithton and Belleville.

Receiving funds from the Millstadt Fire Protection District as opposed to being its own taxing entity, the ability of the department to receive adequate funds has been hampered over the years as it deals with rising costs of equipment and issues with recruitment and retention like other small EMS departments.

Goetz spoke about how Millstadt EMS has faced a major deficit in its operations, with payments from insurance not actually providing much while also taking remarkably long to reimburse the department.

“The difference between what we spend and what we get from tax money is huge, and then we make money on our calls, but Medicare and Medicaid and private insurances only reimburse so much money per call regardless of what happens, what you do, what you use, and equipment’s expensive,” Goetz said.

With this funding struggle in mind, Millstadt EMS recognized it had an opportunity to establish itself as an independent ambulance service given the passage of Illinois House Bill 4179 which went into effect last year.

“We are underneath the Millstadt Fire Department right now, so our tax money comes from the fire department, and if we can become our own taxing unit, then we can have our tax money come directly to us,” Goetz said. “We’re in the process right now of seeing how that looks.”

Goetz said Millstadt EMS began looking into the establishment of an independent district as it found departments in New Baden and other communities in Clinton County doing so with apparent success.

She further spoke to the department’s need for improved access to tax funds, particularly noting how much call volume has increased over the years.

The department website notes how its service area’s population has more than doubled since 2010. In 2013, Millstadt EMS responders had 300 calls for service. That has since ballooned to around 800 calls annually.

Goetz said 2024’s total call volume reached 1,456.

“I used to work on the service as an EMT for about 16 years, and then I stopped for a while because I had my kids, and I got started back here a few months ago in this position, and the amount of call volume is unbelievable for a small town,” Goetz said. “We have a lot of area, but still. The amount of calls you have is interesting for this population.”

She also explained the department has tried to expand its services beyond just emergency response in an effort to provide more for the community.

These efforts include a Drug Overdose Prevention program, providing Narcan to individuals and businesses as well as the community’s police and fire departments.

Moving forward, Goetz said the district unfortunately missed the filing deadline to get a referendum for an independent ambulance district on the ballot for this year’s election in April, so the department currently plans to push for voter support on the 2026 ballot.

In the months ahead, Goetz explained the department will be hosting town halls and other Q&A sessions to help further inform the community about the impact such a district could have, with the hope being that the department would be able to replace outdated equipment and make Millstadt EMS more attractive for quality EMTs, paramedics and other responders.

“As our community grows, we need more money to be able to be able to give a good wage to our medics and EMTs and be able to buy equipment to serve the community,” Goetz said.