Arbor Vitae ambulance service managers met Monday to address rising EMS costs, following an August 28 meeting where Vilas County board members discussed aid for towns like Eagle River. Triggered by increased costs in Lac du Flambeau and Arbor Vitae which are served by Oneida County, both meetings included James Small of the UW School of Medicine and Sherri Congleton of Vilas County emergency management. Small, leading Monday’s “working group,” stressed reliable, sustainable, and well-funded rural EMS. He suggested a countywide EMS levy, a practice in 14 other Wisconsin counties. Congleton called the working group a “productive first step” with valuable feedback and said that although the process to solving the problem will take some work she said the meetings were a strong start.