Gussner said in the 40 years the fire department has been around they have only ever had two tax increases.

In August the fire department has two propositions on the ballot for Lake St. Louis voters, Proposition Life and Proposition Safety.

Proposition Life is an 18 cent tax levy. That money would be used for getting the current budget deficit caught up and hire two more firefighters.

Proposition Safety is an eight million dollar bond.

That money would be used to consolidate the two stations into one new location and buy new equipment such as trucks.

The ambulance — a 2015 Dodge Ram 5500 — replaces a 2007 GMC medium-duty truck that went out of service in May; it had about 101,000 miles on it.

The fire department looks into replacing ambulances every eight to 10 years, according to Capt. Norm Simpkins Jr. This is the first time the fire department has purchased a new ambulance since 2011, when a Medic 355 was added, he said.

The new safety features and functions that the new vehicle provides impressed Simpkins.

"It's good not only for the citizens that we serve but for our members who ride the piece of apparatus," he said.

Last year, the prior Medic 356 was starting to show signs of its age, said Matt Urick, a paramedic and firefighter for the department. Wear and tear was starting to show, and maintenance costs were adding up.

In July, the fire department announced the formation of a committee to find a replacement. Urick was tasked with leading it.

A plaque will recognize Tamlyn at the new station site, located along West Central Avenue and the corner of Lovingly Street.

“There’s a lot of politics in all of this, as there is in everything we do. But the bottom line is, it’s about what is the best thing for the citizens of the region. Not just in Emmet County, but in Cheboygan County, it reaches across the bridge and touches in Mackinac County. What is the best for our region? And we think we’ve got it,” Tamlyn said.

Emmet County officials said that the decision to name the facility was made administratively.

With the Mackinaw City facility now complete, the county-run ambulance service has two of its three planned stations in operation.

The first building was opened on M-119 near Harbor Springs. The Mackinaw City station has the capacity to hold three ambulance vehicles and four sleeping quarters for crews to rest during their 24-hour shifts.

It was also completed within its $1.3 million budget, with a cost of a little less than $1.2 million.