Oak Creek Faces Loss of Paramedics Funding

The impact of Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele's proposal to cut paramedic funding to municipalities would certainly be felt in Oak Creek.

Oak Creek received $275,000 this year from the county to help fund its , Finance Director Mark Wyss said. Under Abele's plan, the entire $3 million the county pays toward local paramedic programs would be eliminated, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report.

Abele said the payments were "an out-of-date subsidy" and that he is "committed to introducing a budget without a deficit or a levy increase," the newspaper reported.

Some Milwaukee County supervisors have ripped the proposal, saying that consolidation of services is worth looking into but that eliminating funding to local governments goes too far.

"It's frustrating that this county executive does not understand the needs of his constituents. He appears to be clueless and out of touch," Supervisor Mark Borkowski said. "Emergency Medical Services has been Milwaukee County’s baby since its inception in the 1970s. Our program was one of the first in the United States and is a nationally respected model for providing this vital care. We will not simply sit on the sidelines and allow this vital service to be dismantled."

Oak Creek Mayor Dick Bolender, however, downplayed Abele's proposal, saying the city's paramedics service would continue regardless.

"I feel very badly about that but Oak Creek would be able to pick up the pieces," he said. "We're not going to let it fall by the wayside."