Town voters to decide on EMS levy hike

The Saukville Town Board last week agreed to ask voters on April 2 to raise the tax levy by $205,000 to pay for increased emergency medical services beginning next year.

The town is the third of four communities served by the Grafton and Saukville fire departments to approve a spring referendum to hire additional paramedic/firefighters, who officials say are needed to ensure a quick response when an emergency occurs.

If approved, the measure would increase property taxes in the town by $63 for every $100,000 in assessed valuation, or about $190 for the owner of a property valued at $300,000, Town Chairman Kevin Kimmes said.

The increase would show up on property tax bills issued in December.

In addition to the town’s referendum, the Village of Grafton is seeking to up its levy by $1.5 million in a spring referendum, and the Town of Grafton by $372,000.

The only community served by the fire departments that is not holding a referendum is the Village of Saukville, which has enough money in its budget to pay its share of the cost of hiring 13 full-time paramedic/firefighters for the departments.

Kimmes said it’s important that residents realize the referendum isn’t about consolidating the two departments but funding increased services.

The additional staff includes a deputy chief for the Grafton department, as well as three captain/paramedics and three engine/paramedics for the department while the Saukville department would hire three lieutenant/paramedics and three firefighter/paramedics, according to a press release.

The staffing would enable the Grafton department to respond to two simultaneous ambulance calls around the clock and the Saukville department to respond to one.

“This is going to increase our (fire department) staffing to a true full-time fire and EMS service,” Kimmes said. The Town of Saukville contracts with the Saukville Fire Department, which is collaborating with the Grafton Fire Department, for fire and ambulance services, Kimmes said.

He noted that while now there is one full-time medic/firefighter at the fire station around the clock, the extra positions will increase that substantially.

“That’s a really big deal,” Kimmes said. “You know that when you call 911, someone is going to be there.”

The 44% increase in the town tax levy “sounds like a lot,” Kimmes said, but he said it will only increase taxes about as much as subscribing to Netflix for a year.

For the extra money the town will pay for fire and ambulance services, he said, the town is getting access to departments with more than $5 million in resources.

And that, he added, is worthwhile.

“While I think it’s worth it, I want to hear from everyone. That’s why we’re holding a referendum,” Kimmes said.

The town, unlike the village and town of Grafton, is small enough that it could have instead called for a vote on the levy increase at a meeting of the electors, which likely would have had a smaller turnout, but he noted that officials want to hear from all residents.

While the town is seeking to increase its levy by $205,000 for medical and fire services, Kimmes said he believe that amount will decrease in the future.

That’s because the cost of the increased emergency medical services is being divided between the four communities using a formula that takes into account each municipality’s population, equalized valuation and emergency call volume.

And while the town and village of Grafton and the Village of Saukville are each growing quickly, Kimmes said, the Town of Saukville is growing much more slowly. That means its share of the total population and valuations, as well as the call volume, is likely to decrease, he predicted, which would decrease the town’s cost.

“For the next 10 years, I think our cost will go down,” he said.

“It’s important for us to realize we will continue to get a good value.”

Kimmes said he doesn’t know what will happen if the town turns down the referendum while the other communities approve their funding requests.

“If that happens, we’ll have to reassess,” he said. “We’re going to have to figure that out if it occurs.”

Kimmes said he has heard some resistance to the referendum as well as some support, particularly when he mentions the cost is the equivalent of Netflix.

“I think it’s right for the community,” he said.

The town plans to hold informational sessions on the referendum, Kimmes said, but dates for these meetings have not been set.