Joint fire department hinges on referendum

The Village of Saukville is one step closer to consolidating its fire department with Grafton’s after the Village Board  on Tuesday unanimously agreed to move forward with a funding referendum.

The resolution authorizes the village to hire a consultant to educate the public on what the referendum would mean for each municipality and to take a “holistic look” at what the Grafton and Saukville fire stations would need in a consolidated department.

The village agreed to spend a maximum of $24,000 to have Mueller Communications “assist in formulating and distributing information and data that is pertinent to a funding referendum,” according to the resolution.

Grafton Trustees approved the same resolution last week and committed to spend $31,000.

Saukville will pay for the firm using its general fund balance.

Mueller will also help formulate the actual referendum question that would appear on the April ballot, Village Administrator Dawn Wagner said, adding the City of Cedarburg has hired the company to do the same thing.

“They are a great company. We know that they are widely used. They will help get information out to the public so they know exactly what they would be voting for,” she said. “There are a lot of questions, and there needs to be a lot of understanding.”

Grafton and Saukville Fire Chief Bill Rice agreed.

“People need to know this is not a cheap venture. This agency will help people know exactly what the referendum means,” he said.

The resolution also approves spending $32,000 to hire Zimmerman Design Group “for the purposes of a facilities study related to the referendum.”

Saukville intends to pay for the facilities study using American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

Grafton also anticipates spending $32,000 on the contract with Zimmerman.

The Zimmerman study would look into what each fire station needs to house full-time staffers and what is needed to accommodate consolidation.

The stations were both built around 25 years ago without living quarters. The study will also look into whether improvements are needed to bring the buildings up to code.

“The firm would quickly come and evaluate the station. That will help us capture all the costs and put them in the referendum,” Rice said.

Village President Andy Hebein noted this study will help the village understand what the station needs in the future whether a consolidation happens or not.

Wagner concurred and added, “This will help us get a solid structure (of information) that can be justified.”

The contracts with both Mueller and Zimmerman will be entered in a joint fashion between each village.

Rice said it has “not been easy” getting to this point.

The referendum working group, which is comprised of members from the towns and villages of Saukville and Grafton, is meeting “more frequently and making a lot of progress, but it’s still not easy,” he said.

“Everyone is largely on the same page, but the dark cloud is coming and it’s not a cheap one. People need to know it’s not going to be anything close to a cheap venture.”

The resolution from both villages is timely, Hebein said, because the communities need to get their “ducks in a line quickly” if each municipality wants to have the referendum question on the spring ballot.

Hebein said the villages will need to have a staffing plan in the next couple of weeks and understand what the associated costs are.

“The cost is mainly staffing, not equipment. That’s where the issue is. Our intention is to share and come forward with a very strategic plan,” he said.

Hebein added that while the working group is looking at everything related to the referendum, the reality is that “everyone (on the Village Board) needs to be looking at this.”

The two villages and towns would each have their own referendum, however all of them will have “nearly the exact same wording,” Rice said.

Each would ask permission to raise the levy by an amount that would vary by community.

Rice said the amount is being determined through a “fairness formula” that accounts for population and its growth or decline.

Each municipality would have to approve their question by January to have it appear on the April ballot.

A referendum is needed because each village’s and town’s levy is not sufficient to support a joint department that meets the needs recommended by a 2021 Wisconsin Policy Forum report.

According to the resolution, the referendum for a consolidated Fire and EMS Department “will provide an effective and efficient level of service to its residents.”