The city of St. Joseph will be paying more for ambulance services as Medic 1 seeks to update its operational model.

St. Joseph City Commissioners on Monday heard from Public Safety Director Steve Neubecker Medic 1 is raising the per capita charge to the city from $8.43 to $10 per month.

“We currently pay roughly $5,518 a month,” Neubecker said. ‘The increase will increase to $7,201 a month.”

However, Neubecker said St. Joe’s Medic 1 costs pale in comparison to many other communities. That’s because St. Joseph was one of the original ten Medic 1 owners. He noted New Buffalo, not an original founder, pays $72 per resident for the service.

Medic 1 Director Jason Wiley told commissioners as the service has expanded to 17 municipalities around Berrien County, costs have risen, requiring higher subsidies from the communities served.

“Medic One has pretty much operated the same way for the last 50 years,” Wiley said. “We were started in 1977 and our operation has stayed the same. We really need to update some operational changes. We really need to increase some operational efficiencies.”

Wiley said some of the changes now being implemented at the service to improve operations and efficiency probably should have been made ten years ago. He offered to give a complete presentation to commissioners, something Commissioner Michael Sarola said he would like to see.

Commissioners then approved the new rates.