Shared fire, EMS report to be unveiled Thursday

The results of a study of shared fire and emergency medical services in Ozaukee County will be revealed during an online meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 11.

The results will be presented to elected officials, fire chiefs and administrators from the 10 communities that commissioned the study by the Wisconsin Policy Forum via Zoom.

Port Washington City Administrator Tony Brown said the study offers six options for communities to consider as they look for ways to increase service while maintaining or decreasing costs.

Each of the options requires multiple departments to work cooperatively in order to realize the results, Brown said.

The study doesn’t recommend a plan for the communities to endorse but instead lays out alternatives for further consideration, he said.

“This study, I would say, is a conversation starter,” Brown said. “It’s a basis to start conversations between communities.”

The study looked at everything from call volume and personnel data to budgets and equipment with recommendations on ways to potentially share services or consolidate operations, including ways to implement the recommendations.

Thursday’s meeting will provide a forum for local officials to hear the results of the study, Brown said.

Officials from the Policy Forum will then meet with the governing bodies of each of the 10 participating communities to present the results and answer questions — a process Brown said is expected to take until the end of April to complete.

Forum President Rob Henken will present the results to the Port Washington Common Council when it meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 16.

Brown said he expects each governing body will be asked to accept the report, but he said he’s not sure what the next steps will be.

“I think we’re going to take a step-by-step approach and not get ahead of ourselves,” he said. “I think right now we’re just looking at getting the report out there.

“I think we’ll get a good sense over the next month, month and a half, which way communities are leaning.”

The participating communities include the cities of Port Washington, Cedarburg and Mequon, villages of Saukville, Belgium, Thiensville, Grafton and Fredonia and the towns of Cedarburg and Belgium.

To access Thursday’s presentation, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81559922508. People may also listen to the meeting by calling 1-312-626-6799 and entering the code 815-5992-2508.