Plymouth Council votes down Lift Assist Fee Ordinance; full fee overhaul coming

The Plymouth Common Council has voted to deny a proposed ordinance that would have established a non-emergency lift assist fee for the Plymouth Fire Department, clearing the way for a broader overhaul of the department's entire fee structure that Mayor Listenberger and Fire Chief Steve Holm say is already in the works.

Ordinance 2026-2255 had been tabled indefinitely back in February and sat unresolved until Clerk-Treasurer Lynn Gorski raised the issue at the May council meeting. Gorski flagged the problem because the unresolved ordinance was creating complications in the physical bound records that document all official council actions.

City Attorney Jeff Houin explained the situation to the council. "The practical reality of her responsibility butts up against parliamentary procedure," Houin said, outlining two paths forward. The council could act on the ordinance immediately, revisit it at a future meeting to allow members time to review it, or vote to defeat it outright — preserving the option to bring it back under a new ordinance at a later date.

Councilman Culp asked whether any new information had surfaced following prior discussions with interested parties. Houin said the issue had been taken up with EnFocus, through which it evolved into a broader conversation about the internal operations of the fire department. Mayor Listenberger subsequently formed a committee to examine those concerns, including the department's overall fee structure for services.

Mayor Listenberger told the council that he and Fire Chief Steve Holm are actively working not just on the lift assist fee question, but on a larger restructuring of how the department charges for its services. The mayor indicated those proposed changes would be brought before the council at a future meeting.

Chief Holm confirmed the scope of the effort, describing a total overhaul of fees for ambulatory care covering both Advanced Life Support (ALS) and Basic Life Support (BLS) services.

With that broader review underway, the council moved to deny Ordinance 2026-2255 on its third and final reading. The motion passed by a 6-0 vote, with Council Member Linda Starr absent from the meeting.

The denial clears the administrative record while leaving the door open for the mayor and fire chief to bring a revised and more comprehensive fee proposal forward in the coming months.