Le Sueur County officials met at the Montgomery Police Department on Wednesday, Sept. 24, with about 30 in attendance.
Guest speakers included two individuals from the League of Minnesota Cities (LMC), Luke Fischer, executive director, and Anne Finn, intergovernmental relations director.
LMC is an organization that helps cities throughout the state of Minnesota by promoting excellence in government through effective advocacy, expert analysis, and trusted guidance. According to Fischer, they represent 842 of the 856 cities in Minnesota.
Finn says that she and their staff are lobbying for bills that benefit cities, something that was not a part of the last legislative session. She says they are also pushing for housing and emergency medical services money, as that is something that is difficult for small communities to afford.
“I don’t know what’s happening in 2025, but we will definitely push more bonding bills for pots of money that fit communities,” said Finn.
Montgomery City Administrator and Minnesota Association of Small Cities LMC Board Member Brian Heck highlighted that EMS is not a ‘one size fits all’ entity. “One thing that every ambulance service, particularly public ambulance service, faces is deficits, because we have more people in this area on Medicaid or Medicare,” said Heck. “Those reimbursements are a third or less of what it costs us to do the transport. So we are always running a deficit…it’s the burden of the deficit that drives us hard…we are $50-$70,000 in the red every year.”
“You’re right, it’s not a one size fits all. So we need to figure out how to make sure all the service models around the state have the resources they need to make sure that no matter where you are when you need help, that an ambulance can get to you and you get the care you need,” said Finn.
Heck mentioned the difficulties with Mayo Clinic Health Systems clinics closing in Montgomery and other communities like St. Peter. “It becomes a challenge for many of our residents who use that clinic..."