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BUCHANAN — The Buchanan City Commission is proposing a lower than expected assessment amount for city residents to pay to support the Southwestern Michigan Community Ambulance Service. The final vote on approving the assessment rolls and set the assessment will come after a public hearing at the commission’s Oct. 14 meeting.

     Commissioners held a special meeting Monday morning to talk about the SMCAS assessment and set the public hearing. They also talked about the future of the ambulance service and voted on an amendment to the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant application made earlier this year.

     Commissioners had voted a week ago to re-establish the special assessment district for SMCAS. The proposal then had been to assess all residential units and commercial/industrial parcels $40 this year and then raising it until it is $50 per unit/parcel in five years.

Owner municipalities pay their share of SMCAS expenses on a per capita basis. This year, municipalities are choosing a variety of means to pay their shares of SMCAS operations: special assessments, payments out of the general fund, a mix of the two to lower the assessment amount as well as a small millage levy.

Monday, Commissioner Dan Vigansky proposed a $25 a year assessment for the next five years and take the remaining amount owed out of the general fund. The commission had paid the entire amount out of the general fund last year because they started the process too late to get it on the winter tax bills.

     “I’m trying to find a compromise here,” Vigansky said. “I don’t agree with it (the assessment) but there’s nothing much we can do with our screwed up health system. If the city has some skin in the game with it coming out of the budget, we may pay more attention to their expenses.”

     The motion passed on a 3-2 vote with Vigansky, Raquell George and Larry Money voting yes. Patrick Swem and Mark Weedon voted no.

     Besides talking about the assessment, commissioners and SMCAS Executive Director Brian Scribner also talked about other ambulance related topics including the service’s contracts with Cass County municipalities, a possible merger with Medic 1 and the future of ambulance service in general.

     Scribner noted that SMCAS has contracted with Milton and Pokagon Townships for a number of years and last year began serving the rest of Cass County when their ambulance service pulled out unexpectedly. He said those communities including Dowagiac and Cassopolis are paying a higher subsidy amount than the owner municipalities or Milton and Pokagon.

     As he put it, there is a lower call volume in Cass so being ready to answer calls is more expensive which results in them paying more. SMCAS has ambulances at two municipally owned buildings in Dowagiac and Cassopolis and provide the staffing.

     With the Medic 1 discussion, Scribner said both entities are looking at the value of merging. “We’ve talked about a potential partnership or merger down the road,” he said. “I think it would be good and be more efficient, helping us put resources where they’re needed. There are a number of things we could do, I’m hopeful that it will work out.”

     He said another issue both services are looking at is promoting “community” paramedic programs where services partner with hospitals to have paramedics go out in the community and check on people recently released from hospitals. He noted that SMCAS and Medic 1 officials have taken field trips to look at how others have handled mergers and started community paramedic programs.

     In other action, commissioners approved amending the trust fund application the city submitted in March to make improvements to Riverfront Park. The city previously received a grant last year to put a handicapped accessible kayak launch at the park.

     Community Development Director Rich Murphy said that the city has received preliminary information about the scoring of this year’s grant application. He said that while the score for the application is good, he wants to do more to make sure it gets funded.

     He suggested and the commission agreed to up the local match for the project from 26 percent to 30 percent. The total project cost is $330,000 and the city will now pledge to give $99,000 rather than $85,800. The grant amount being applied for is now $231,000 instead of $244,200.

The city should find out in December if they are going to get the grant. Murphy said that while the city will budget for the local match in the 2025-26 fiscal year, he will still be seeking to get private donations to pay for some if not all of the local match.

     The project got positive comments from three people in attendance. LiveBuchanan co-chair Randy Hendrixson called the riverfront park a “gem” for the community and urged city leaders to invest in the park. Fran Tuite and Peter Lysy also spoke in favor of the project.

In other action, commissioners authorized Swem to contact consultant Frank Walsh about a new city manager search. While City Manager Tim Lynch’s contract is slated to end at the end of the calendar year, the commission remains hopeful to retain him beyond that time. The commission’s vote related to recruiting a new city manager was strictly related to the long term succession planning for the role.

Lynch served for a few months in 2023 as the interim manager and came back last December after Ben Eldridge resigned after a short tenure that ended with controversy as he was suspended by then Mayor Sean Denison. Walsh indicated then that he would give the city a discount on a new search.