BELOIT, Wis. — The city and town of Beloit will stop providing fire and emergency medical services under several agreements with neighboring communities beginning Jan. 1, 2027, the same day the two Beloit fire departments are scheduled to merge. Beloit officials said the agreements became a budget concern during planning for the combined department. The city currently charges some communities about $27,000 annually, while its assessment of the actual cost of providing those services is closer to — or more than — $300,000 per year, City Manager Daniel Ortiz Hernandez said. The affected areas include the Town of Turtle and part of the Town of La Prairie. Officials said those communities have been paying about 10% of the cost of the services, leaving Beloit taxpayers to cover the difference. “We’re no longer going to subsidize other communities,” Town of Beloit City Administrator and Finance Director John Malizio said, describing the current arrangements as inequitable for city and town residents. La Prairie Board Chair Allan Arndt said his town learned about the change in a June letter. He said the letter informed La Prairie that Beloit ambulance crews would no longer respond alongside the Town of Turtle fire department and that Beloit would not submit another proposal for service. Arndt said La Prairie does not dispute the bill but questioned whether Beloit’s cost calculation reflects the different level of service in rural areas. City residents may receive a fire truck quickly after calling 911, he said, while rural residents generally face longer response times. The planned merger is intended to strengthen service within Beloit. Malizio said the combined department would have 81 people available to respond to calls, compared with 27 in the town department, at a time when the agencies are struggling to recruit firefighters and paramedics. Beloit officials said they remain willing to negotiate service agreements with outside communities if those contracts cover the full assessed cost of providing service. Communities that lose Beloit coverage will need to arrange alternatives before the Jan. 1 transition.