Town to hold fire department referendum

The Town of Saukville Board voted Dec. 19 to present a fire service referendum question to voters that would enhance emergency-response capability and an estimated increase of $162 in property taxes for an average home worth $250,000, according to town documents.

The unanimous approval comes after years of study and conversation among neighboring communities that are considering consolidating their fire departments to improve emergency response services.

If approved by voters April 2, the increased levy would come into effect in 2025.

Under the proposed plan, the Saukville and Grafton fire departments would merge and be funded by the village and town of Grafton and village and town of Saukville based on their respective populations, equalized property values and overall share of call volume.

The consolidation would allow for around-the-clock fire and EMS services, according to town officials.

Each day of the year, one lieutenant/paramedic and two firefighters/paramedics would be assigned to the Saukville station.

A captain/paramedic, firefighter/paramedic, firefighter/EMT and an engineer/paramedic would be based out of the Grafton station.

Paid-on-call staff would continue serving the community in a support role.

The proposed consolidated department would cost an estimated total of $5.3 million in its first year, according to town data. The Town of Saukville would be responsible for $381,040 of that amount, more than double the $175,950 the town has budgeted for fire/EMS services in 2024.

As it currently stands, the town is served by four departments through a subcontracting agreement: the Newburg Fire Department, Fredonia Fire Department, Waubeka Fire Department and the Village of Saukville Fire Department.

Across Wisconsin and nationwide, fire departments that rely on volunteer, part-time and paid-on-call firefighters are seeing severely declined enrollment. As a result, many affected communities experience prolonged response times.

A 2021 Wisconsin Policy Forum report looked into the situation within Ozaukee County. That report now forms the basis of the four communities’ consolidation effort.

The report says department consolidation is a cost-effective option for communities that want to improve their fire/EMS response capabilities.

“For smaller communities in particular, service sharing or consolidation may offer an opportunity to secure full-time fire and EMS service capacity for a price tag that would not be affordable if pursued independently,” the report says.

Prior to the vote, Board President Kevin Kimmes said the town had another option besides a referendum. Due to the town’s population under 3,000, Kimmes said the Board could schedule a special town meeting. Voters in attendance would participate in a vote at that time, much like during the annual town meeting day, to decide the outcome.

But Kimmes and the other Board members decided against that, saying it made sense to join in a referendum with the other communities involved in the consolidation effort.

“If everyone else is doing a referendum, let’s go along with the process and hold a referendum,” Kimmes said.

Following the referendum resolution, the Board also approved $4,622 for a contract with the public relations firm Mueller Communications. Kimmes said about half of that amount will be spent on printing and mailing documents to town voters ahead of the April 2 vote.

The proposed department’s name is still up in the air, Kimmes said, but some options include Central Ozaukee Fire Department or Mid-Ozaukee Fire Department.