August 8, 2026 – Village of Newburg, WI – About a dozen residents from the Village of Newburg, Wi attended a meeting Thursday night at the Community Center as the Village Board revisited an earlier resolution supporting a proposed Washington County EMS plan.
Following nearly 3 hours of community input the board voted 3-1 to repeal the boards earlier support of a resolution for Countywide EMS service. Village President Dave DeLuka cast the sole dissenting vote. Those voting in favor included Trustees Mike Enright, Paul Zimdars, and Mike Heili.
Trustees John Beimborn, Jane Probelski and Brooke Stangel were excused from the meeting, however Stangel was in attendance and sat in the back of the room.
Village of Newburg Wisconsin
Resolution 2026-16
A Resolution repealing Resolution 2026-14 in support of the Countywide EMS service
WHEREAS; The Village of Newburg Board of Trustees heard a presentation on the current proposal on July 23rd, 2026, and have taken action on Resolution 2026-14: A Resolution in support of the Countywide EMS Service; and
WHEREAS; that action was in favor of passing the resolution as presented unanimously and signed by the Village President and Village Clerk to be returned to the County; and
WHEREAS; the acting parties have reconsidered their action and heard more information from the County and Administrator on the details of the proposal and have fielded public feedback;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED; That the Village of Newburg Board of Trustees repeals and rescinds Resolution 2026-14 and their support for the Countywide EMS service with the full knowledge of the presentation and that the Washington County Board of Supervisors have not acted on the proposal yet and the details of the proposal are subject to change;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED; that at which time the Washington County Board of Supervisors passes a resolution and imposes a tax levy on the residents of the county, the Village of Newburg Board of Trustees will consider the required contracts and agreements to participate in the funding program as decided and imposed.
Passed and adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Newburg, Washington and Ozaukee Counties, Wisconsin, this 6th day of August, 2026.
_______________________________ __________________________________
David C Deluka, Village President Heather Wellman, Village Clerk
Click HERE for more articles on reaction to the EMS proposal in Washington County, WI
Some highlights from questions asked at the 3+hour meeting are below.
-The need to see actual data and an EMS plan in writing
– According to Village administrator Nate Wendleborn, Washington County would take $300,000 for administrative costs, and there would be ‘$500,000 coming off the front end for proliferation of volunteer firefighters.’ Neighbors asked for written facts on how $300,000 was determined for administration and where the money would be going. Many of the questions were answer with “those things have yet to be worked out” and “this is the current proposal and all those things can change.”
-The county is looking at creating a new annual tax of $3.5 million to “ease the burden of EMS.” That tax would increase between 2% to 4% annually. The tax would be an extra $51 on a $400,000 home. No details were shared on how that amount of tax was determined.
-According to the County, the Village of Newburg would contribute approximately $18,064 through the proposed levy while receiving only about $10,562 in first-year funding—a difference of more than $7,500. A community member asked why would Newburg contribute substantially more than it receives?
-Aside from providing funding for EMS, the tax would fund incentivizing and retention of volunteer firefighters and fund county administrative initiatives. Details on how that plan would work were not provided.
-Comment from the gallery, “Too much is done verbally, we need to see it in writing.”
– “What happens over the next five years when the boards and administration changes… how will fire departments get the money or the village get the money and will there be restrictions?”
– “The elephant in the room is there appears to be a growing concern in the community about transparency, communication and trust. How is the money received, how it is placed, how it is used, how past financial decisions are connected to the funding.”
-“Will the county set up meetings for all the municipalities, individually, so the numbers within the proposal can be compared to all the other reasons and things they looked at and the numbers for those things, to explain why those options do not work. Will they put that together before the actual vote happens?”
-A state statute currently in place was brought up as an option to a county takeover of EMS. “Under current law in the state of Wisconsin 66.0602(3)(h) charges from fire and EMS districts of at least two municipalities assessed by the district to the municipality are exempt from the levy limit calculations and are allowed to grow at an annual rate of the consumer price index increase plus 2% per year.”
-Neighbors questioned the strict timeline on a decision noting, the county has been in discussion for three years but the community only recently found out about the proposal and why does a decision have to be rushed when the timeline is self imposed. “Good government welcomes informed citizens. If this proposal is truly the best path forward, it should withstand complete transparency, open public discussion, and the time necessary for residents to make an informed decision.”
On a side note:
-Questions following the meeting were emailed to president DeLuka. As of Saturday morning, August 8, 2026, DeLuka had not responded.
-Newburg is not the only community in Washington County backtracking on its initial support of a county resolution. The City of Hartford is expected to revisit the resolution at its August meeting. The Village of Kewaskum is also putting it on its agenda to revisit the resolution, as is the Town of Trenton. The Town of West Bend voted to table the resolution and the Town of Polk supported the initial resolution but in a letter town leaders said they did so “reluctantly.” A letter from the Town of Trenton is also posted below indicating reservations. The Village of Germantown, which did not vote to support asked for more hard data on the proposed plan.
This is a working story, and more information will be posted when details are available.
