County to order ambulance now for 2027

MARENGO — Iowa County Ambulance Director Adam Rabe will be ordering a new ambulance, but it won’t arrive until 2027.

Lead times are at least two years, Rabe told Iowa County Supervisors earlier this month. He wants to order now, though the county won’t have to pay for the vehicle until fiscal year 2027.

Rabe presented Supervisors with bids from four companies, the lowest from Legacy Emergency Vehicles, formerly Klocke’s Emergency Vehicles.

The bid for the Life Life Line Ambulance from Legacy was $308,025 with trade in. The ambulance will have a 2026 or newer Ford E450 chassis, said Rabe.

“We have three Life Lines,” said Rabe. It’s the only ambulance built in Iowa. “We prefer to stay with Life Line.”

Rabe plans to keep the power cot but will need a power mount installed for it in the new ambulance.

Other bids came from Field Fire, $311,467 for a Wheeled Coach ambulance; American Response Vehicles, $278,763 for an AEV ambulance plus $35,000 for the power cot mount; and North Central Emergency Vehicles, $331,848, for an Osage ambulance.

The last ambulance the county purchased cost $268,000 with a trade in of $19,500 from Klocke’s, said Robe. It arrived in 2024 and was paid for during the current budget year.

As costs continue to rise, the county may have to look at an EMS essential service levy to keep the ambulance running, Rabe said.

Supervisors gave Rabe their concent to purchase the Life Line ambulance.