Perham Council Unanimously Stays on EMS Board, Increases Budget Shares

Perham City Council voted unanimously to remain on the Perham Area EMS Joint Powers Board and approved amendments to the joint‑powers agreement that increase participating entities’ budget shares and clarify withdrawal rules, local reporting and the city agenda packet show. The council “approved an agreement as well as recommended clerical changes at its meeting on Monday, Feb. 9,” Perham Focus reported.

The Perham Area EMS 2027 budget is set at $475,000; documents discussed at a January EMS meeting show Perham’s projected share moves from about $78,687 to about $116,869, which the materials state “accounts for about 25% of the overall budget.” The same materials list Dent’s share increasing from about $3,729 to about $5,537, and note that the three exiting members previously accounted for roughly 13% of the budget. Perham Focus reported that “existing joint powers board members are on the hook for the 2026 budget, as those expenses were approved while they were voting members.”

The City of Perham agenda packet identifies the operative amendment by date and scope. The packet states: “Council may wish to approve the January 12, 2026 amendment to the EMS Joint Powers Agreement to continue with the twelve remaining townships and cities.” A second agenda item reads: “Council may wish to approve the January 12, 2026 amendments to the EMS Joint Powers Agreement clarifying definitions, updating language, and revising meeting information to reflect current processes.” The city packet lists the EMS items under the Parks, Public Works and Public Safety section as items 7.B and 7.C.

Membership and withdrawal reporting in the materials contains a notable contradiction. Perham Focus says a reorganization occurred at the start of 2026 after three townships, Dead Lake, Otto and Star Lake, withdrew. Elsewhere in the same Perham Focus coverage and in city materials, the roster of entities expected to cover the 2027 budget is listed as the cities of Perham, Dent and Richville and the townships of Butler, Corliss, Dora, Edna, Gorman, Hobart, Perham, Pine Lake, Rush Lake and Star Lake. The two sets of statements name Star Lake both as an exiting township and as a remaining participant; the supplied documents do not reconcile that discrepancy.

The EMS amendment was one item on a packed council agenda that also included a city engineer update, an ordinance amendment to add “Mobile Food Units” to peddlers and solicitors rules, a resolution approving allowable areas for mobile food units, acceptance of a $3,200 donation from West Central Initiative for a water fountain at the Perham Auditorium, acceptance of a $50,000 donation from the Boys and Girls Club of DL for the HUB, and consideration of a gambling permit for a March 28, 2026 event at Perham Lakeside Golf Course. City documents and the January EMS meeting materials should be reviewed to confirm the final membership roster, the precise apportionment formula and the Jan. 12, 2026 amendment text.