Lake Country seeks state’s help with fire department staffing crisis
Lake Country Fire and Rescue’s response times are up by 34%, and stations are repeatedly closed from a lack of resources during the department’s staffing crisis. In a letter recently sent to state legislators, the worsening issue is called “the difference between life and death.”
For months, the LCFR Fire Board has discussed possible solutions, and one thing most municipalities could agree on is that they need help from the state. A letter from six of the seven communities served by Lake Country Fire and Rescue sent to state legislators on Feb. 3 says the department is in “a critical state.”
“This is not a typical funding request,” the letter says. “It is an urgent call for assistance.”
All communities served by Lake Country Fire and Rescue except the city of Delafield signed off on the letter.
The Journal Sentinel has not heard back from the city of Delafield about why the municipality decided to not be involved.
After months of debate, in December, the fire board approved of Chief Matthew Fennig’s $3 million four-year staffing plan to replace the department’s current “fractured” paid-on-call model. Now, municipalities are grappling with how to fund it.
The town and city of Delafield are placing a referendum on the April 4 ballot that, if passed, would raise the stateimposed tax levy by $470,000 to address LCFR’s staffing shortage. The other municipalities — town of Genesee, village of Chenequa, village of Nashotah, village of Oconomowoc Lake and village of Wales — are considering other options, including implementing fire fees or foregoing tax levy limits.
The letter expresses appreciation for funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and Gov. Tony Evers’ EMS Flex Grant funding for fire and EMS services. However, Wisconsin gives little direct financing to fire services, and state shared revenue has remained stagnant, it says.
In order to transition to a sustainable model, communities are asking for legislators to establish funding options by considering “more flexibility for fire and EMS under the state levy limit.”
“Communities should not have to take needed funding from other areas of their budgets to meet this essential service,” it says.
State Rep. Cindi Duchow, representing LCFR’s communities, told the Journal Sentinel that she has received concerns from several constituents regarding funding for fire and EMS services.
“During this budget cycle, my colleagues and I will be looking into shared revenue, and how we can best utilize the budget surplus to support them,” said Duchow.
Fire departments’ volunteer models are failing both state and nationwide, experts say, after a rapid increase in call volumes and decrease in volunteers.