Last Tuesday’s Babbitt city council meeting brought disagreements over a proposal to pay ambulance staff based on education level rather than the level of care provided on a call.
For interfacility transfers, the protocol would compensate EMRs $25 per hour, EMTs $30 per hour and paramedics $40 for the same transfer, rather than paying providers based upon the status of the transfer as advanced or basic life support.
City councilors ultimately tabled the proposal, urging paramedics to bring the discussion back to other members of Babbitt’s emergency medical response team to settle on a path forward.
Ambulance supervisor Emily Jaeger said other regional ambulance departments have shifted toward pay scales tiered by certification.
“My generation wants to see that monetary compensation a little bit more, or see something like education provided, to reel them in,” Jaeger. “We can’t run our people forever. You can’t expect somebody who’s in their 40s, 50s, 60s to run 30 plus more years on the ambulance.”
Council member Joe White, who is also certified as an EMT, said a tiered pay structure could incentivize Babbitt’s emergency medical response team to strive for higher education levels.
“Whenyoudoyourparamedic course, you’re in a hospital for well over 100 volunteer hours that you don’t get paid to do to become a paramedic,” White said.
Other emergency responders disagreed, citing concerns about the well-being of the medical providers involved in a response.
“I believe the pay should be based on transport level, because I’m putting them in a higher risk situation where they’re going to have to drive faster, they’re going to have to be more alert, and they have to consistently be able to pay attention to what I’m doing in the back, so if I become in danger or my patient becomes in danger, they can help us,” said assistant ambulance director Rebekah Littler. “It is a different beast.”
Paramedic Matt Littler said the proposal “does not respect the contributions of our BLS providers” and would overlook the importance of transfer calls for granting newer providers with field experience.
“Without their support, it’s all going to be fruitless,” Matt Littler said.
The council also heard concerns from Matt High regarding the $250 price tag on Babbitt’s conditional use permit application for small businesses, as well as the $200 fee to request an ordinance amendment.
Matt High’s wife, Claire High, obtained a cottage bakery license and owns High Rise Bakery. The couple placed an accessory structure in their front yard to sell Claire High’s bakery goods.
“Her idea was to put up a farm stand and offer her products in hopes of not just making a few dollars on the side, but also meeting new faces, and she could do this while satisfying her love for baking,” Matt High said.
Recently, a member of Babbitt’s zoning administration informed the pair they had violated city ordinances, as the Highs operated their stand in a residential area without a conditional use permit.
After discussions with city leadership and community members, Matt High believes he has “found a lot of agreement that the current ordinance book may be a tad too thick and a bit outdated.”
“These ordinances and their associated fees are not proportional in my opinion, and in fact are discouraging to someone who may want to start a home business, or may not be able to come up with that amount of money,” High said.
Council member Jim Lassi said the conditional use permitting ordinance had gone into effect in 1977 as a means for the city to maintain regulatory power over which home businesses could operate, preventing operations which could disrupt neighborhood “tranquility.”
Lassi said the application fee compensates the time city staff spend throughout the permitting process on review, mailings and meetings.
Mayor Andrea Zupancich recommended Matt High to the city’s planning and zoning department to initiate the permitting process.
“I appreciate you coming and explaining this, and also bringing light that we need to make some changes and update to 2026,” Zupancich said.
“A lot of these little niches that people do in their garage, our community needs them a lot,” said council member Duane Lossing. “A lot of them are very valuable. Because we don’t have 100 businesses in town, over the years we’ve had a lot of talented people in town that went through the process and had small businesses.”
Later in the meeting, White made a motion, seconded by Fitzpatrick, to publicly state as a city council in favor of maintaining Babbitt’s police department. The motion included a recommendation to hire four officers at 24/7 coverage.
“We need to start reassuring not just the community, but reassuring those that will be applying for the positions that we support law enforcement, and this is not going to be a short-term thing that’s going to end in one year or two years,” White said.
The alternative option would turn Babbitt’s police coverage over to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department, which White said would result in an annually-fluctuating financial burden to the city.
White said the police department determined they could decrease their current budget to a number slightly higher than St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay’s first-year offering price.
“Sheriff Ramsay pointed out to us when he came before us that they’re a sheriff’s department, they’re not a local PD, so there would be times where the sheriff might get called away and we don’t have any coverage in town,” White said.
The council approved the motion four to one. Lossing opposed the motion, citing concerns over “locking into” 24/7 coverage in advance, in contrast to offering some on-call shifts.
Following the motion, the council approved the purchase of a new squad car for $69,281, a price which includes installation expenses and had already been set aside in the police department’s 2026 budget.
In other business, the council:
• Authorized a site discount at the campground for $50 for every seven consecutive days a camper books a site.
• Authorized a military discount of 10% off all daily, weekly, and monthly campground reservations.
• Approved a motion to ask for a 15% increase in contract value for 2027’s St. Louis County Fire Protection contract.
• Approved required police department radio equipment upgrades.
