Voters across county usher in new era of EMS

Ozaukee County voters on Tuesday voted to usher in the next generation of emergency services, with residents of the cities of Port Washington and Cedarburg, the village of Grafton and the towns of Saukville, Grafton and Cedarburg electing to increase their tax levies beginning next year to retain their current full-time firefighters/paramedics and hire additional personnel.

“I think the public has been aware that our fire and emergency medical service departments are not functioning as well as they were years ago for quite a while,” Grafton and Saukville Fire Chief Bill Rice said, “and they’re willing to address the problem.”

Joe DeBoer,  deputy fire chief and emergency medical services director in Port Washington, said, “We’re kind of humbled by the amount of support we saw, especially considering how big an ask this was.

“We’re taking a huge step forward. This will add a lot of stability to our department as the community continues to grow.”

In the City of Port, 2,257 residents, or 68.6%, voted to increase the annual tax levy by $1.175 million, or $91 per $100,000 of assessed valuation — the equivalent of $213.85 for those who own a house valued at $235,000, the median priced home in the city.

Another 1,034 people, or 31.4%, voted against the measure.

In the Village of Grafton, 2,463 voters, or 67%, agreed to increase the levy by $1.5 million, or $94.66 per $100,000 of valuation while 1,208 people, or 33%, voted against.

Town of Grafton voters cast 947 ballots, or 61.9%, in favor of increasing the levy by $372,000, or $52.15 per $100,000 of valuation, and 584 ballots, or 38%, against it.

In the Town of Saukville, 350 voters, or 54%, cast ballots in favor of increasing the tax levy by $205,000, or $65.10 per $100,000 of valuation, while 298, or 46%, voted against.

And in Cedarburg, voters agreed to add $2.02 million to the tax levy, with 2,362 city residents, or 66.8%, voting in favor of the measure and 1,176 , or 33%, voting against it. In the town, 1,289 residents, or 63.7%, voted in favor and 736, or 36.4%, against.

In the City of Cedarburg, it will add $67.82 per $100,000, or $264.51 for a median home assessed at $390,000, and in the town it will increase taxes by $57.08 per $100,000, or $276.86 for a home assessed at $485,000.

Officials framed the referendum as an investment in needed emergency services, noting that more staffing means quicker responses, something that’s important when minutes can be the difference between life and death.

The referendums brought to the forefront an issue departments have been dealing with for years — how to efficiently and cost effectively staff what were once volunteer departments.

For generations, departments have relied on volunteers, but in today’s world there are so many other things vying for people’s time that membership has flagged, officials said.

“It’s not that people aren’t good and won’t volunteer,” Rice said. “It’s that society is different and people have more things pulling at their time.”

Departments have bolstered the number of paramedics in the past several years using American Rescue Plan Act funds. However, that money runs out at the end of this year, officials said.

And while in the past communities would have increased taxes on their own to hire additional positions, state levy limits make it difficult if not impossible to add staff without a referendum.

Departments have struggled in recent years to hire and retain paramedics, often relying on one another to cover shifts they could not staff. It was an untenable situation, they said.

Rice credited former Ozaukee County Sheriff Jim Johnson with bringing the issue to the forefront, noting he persuaded the county to help finance additional paramedics using ARPA funds.

For the Grafton and Saukville fire departments, the referendum will fund 13 additional positions, allowing the Grafton department to be able to respond to two simultaneous ambulance calls around the clock and the Saukville department to respond to one call.

The funding will pay for two full-time Grafton paramedic positions currently funded with ARPA funds and one in Saukville, as well as six additional firefighter/paramedics at each department and a deputy chief.

But first, the departments will move ahead with plans to consolidate, Rice said, noting the funding approved in the referendum by Grafton and Saukville voters is based on a combined organization.

“We have a pretty good idea of what the structure of the organization will look like. Now we have to do all the work to put if together officially,” he said, adding the departments have made a long-term commitment to “remaining a combined department with full-time, part-time and paid on call personnel.”

In Port, where officials decided not to consolidate its department with Grafton and Saukville, the referendum funding will cover the cost of the city’s existing three full-time firefighter/paramedics — positions now paid through ARPA funds — and allow the city to hire six additional firefighter/paramedics. That, DeBoer said, would allow the city to staff two ambulances or an ambulance and a fire truck around the clock.

In Cedarburg, the funding is expected to pay for eight new and two current positions and allow the fire chief to work full time.

Both Rice and DeBoer said they expect that the additional positions to be filled early in 2025.

“Our goal is Jan. 1, 2025, will be the first day of the new organization and we’ll have people ready to go then,” Rice said.