TOWER — While any decision on the creation of a special taxing district to help stabilize funding for the Tower Area Ambulance Service is still in the future, members of the Tower Ambulance Commission discussed how such an arrangement might work on Monday, as well as what it would mean for the management of the service.
The city is still waiting for input from the city attorney to determine if the idea is viable. The overall goal of the district would be to provide cities and townships greater input and control over decisions related to the ambulance service. Income generated could help shore up the service’s deficit, which is currently running at between $20,000 and $30,000 a year.
The city is looking at a model similar to one developed in Floodwood, which established a taxing district for its ambulance service back in the 1990s. That district serves a similar number of townships as Tower. The Floodwood taxing district was set up similarly to the county’s waste disposal fee, which charges a set fee for every house/cabin, and it would not be based on a property’s value. In Floodwood’s case, they are allowed to collect up to $25,000 a year, and they are assessing $85 per eligible property.
Undeveloped parcels are not assessed. Governmental units would have to vote to join the district, and each would then get to seat one member on the new commission.
The current ambulance commission operates on a subsidy system, with area townships contributing a set fee, currently $15 per person, based on current census data. But this funding is used to cover the costs of new ambulance rigs, not for any operational costs. The subsidy currently raises about $75,000 a year for ambulance replacement.
The cost for a new ambulance has risen rapidly in recent years, with prices now approaching over $300,000 for an outfitted new rig. The service currently operates two rigs; one has 106,834 miles, the other 20,970 miles. Both are currently in very good condition, but the older rig will be in line for replacement in a few years.
Tower Mayor Dave Setterberg suggested setting up a meeting in the near future with the mayor of Floodwood, to discuss how they are running their program.
Commission members aired a lot of questions on how such a program would operate, who would be actually running the department, who would own the department, and who would have responsibility over the employees.
“Coming up with an agreement would be the first step,” said Tower Councilor and commission member Bobby Anderson. “But we are waiting to hear back from the city attorney.”
“Would the new board be running the ambulance service?” asked Greenwood commission representative Lois Roskoski. She added that turnover of representatives on the new board could be an issue as far as their knowledge of ambulance department issues.
Setterberg said he wasn’t sure but said if the townships are agreeing to tax their residents, they should have some say in how the service is run.
Currently the department is part of the city of Tower, which owns the ambulance hall, rigs, and equipment.
It also hires the ambulance department director and employees. The current ambulance commission’s only true oversight is handling the purchase of new rigs, but they are kept up-to-date on all ambulance finances and operations.
Breitung representative Erin Peitso said the commission should look into how other areas with taxing districts are managing their departments, including Floodwood, Walker, and Cloquet.
Minnesota statutes do set forth regulations for establishing emergency medical services special taxing districts (Minn. Statutes 2025 144F.01)
Next steps will include doing more research on such taxing districts, getting information on legal issues, and then outreach to the participating townships to see if they are willing to participate and what questions they have. Fortune Bay and Bois Forte, which currently make an annual donation to the ambulance service, would also be involved in the discussions, with hope they would continue to support the service. The taxing district would not formally include the Bois Forte Reservation’s Vermilion sector. Any taxing district would need approval from the state, and possibly from St. Louis County.
The commission’s next regular meeting is set for Monday, July 6.

Sprint medic program
Commission members discussed the success of the sprint medic program, which provides an on-scene paramedic five days a week in the TAAS service area. The program is being funded by a state grant, and funding will run out midway through next year. Setterberg said he is attending a lobbying day in St. Paul on April 14, and continued funding for this program is one of his priorities, he said.

Funding updates
Tower Deputy Clerk Terri Joki-Martin told the commission members that the service’s old ambulance sold for $10,000. The city’s asking bid was $5,000, and there was a “bidding war” at the end, she said. This money will go into the ambulance replacement fund, which currently has $102,850.
Martin reported that the city and townships have all paid their ambulance subsidy contributions for 2025, and that letters will be sent out in the next month for the 2026 payments.
Contributions are based on population for Tower, Breitung, Eagles Nest, Greenwood, Kugler, and Vermilion Lake, and both Bois Forte and Fortune Bay make an annual donation. This is the last year of the current contract, and new contracts will be worked on later this year for 2027.
The commission heard that the city approved raising the ambulance rates. This won’t change the reimbursement the service gets for Medicare/Medicaid calls but will increase payments from those with private insurance. This change will only increaser revenue “marginally” but still helps out, said commission member Bobby Anderson, and they are comparable to other area services.