Village joins feasibility study for regional emergency service

The Fredonia Village Board last week voted to join seven other communities to explore forming a regional fire and emergency medical service.

The other communities are the cities of Cedarburg, Mequon and Port Washington, the Town of Cedarburg and villages of Grafton, Saukville and Thiensville. 

Because it has become increasingly difficult to recruit firefighters and the cost of vehicles and equipment continues to rise, local municipal officials and fire chiefs have met periodically in the last several years to discuss whether consolidating fire and EMS service makes sense.

The study, to be performed by the Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Policy Forum, would collect data from each of the participating departments, including operating and capital budgets, service call histories, staffing levels and employee policies, according to a memorandum of understanding between the Policy Forum and the participating communities.

The Policy Forum will use the data to present service sharing or consolidation options, their potential fiscal and governance  impacts and possible next steps. The study is expected to begin later this month, take about six months to complete and be presented to the communities by the end of the year.

Fredonia Fire Chief Brian Weyker said the consolidation idea started with the county’s southern fire departments.

“You have five ladder trucks 10 minutes away from each other in Mequon, Thiensville and Cedarburg,” he said.

The cost of the study is $22,000, with each of the communities sharing the cost equally. Fredonia’s participation would lower the per-community cost to $2,750. That could drop further if Belgium, Waubeka or Newburg, which contracts with the Town of Saukville, also get involved.

The Fredonia Town Board was scheduled to discuss the study at its meeting Wednesday, June 10.

Belgium Fire Chief Dan Birenbaum said the department’s board of directors will discuss the study when it meets Thursday.

Weyker said he thought the towns should also be involved in the study and share its costs.

“I don’t necessarily agree with how the money is being divided between the fire departments. It should include the towns,” he said.

Weyker and village trustees said regional consolidation would damage the esprit de corps that exists in most fire departments, which have long histories and strong community identities.

“We would probably not retain all our current firefighters” if consolidation occurred, Weyker said.

Trustee Joshua Haas conceded that consolidation “is something we’ll have to deal with” but said he was concerned about the effect it would have on Fredonia homeowners’ and businesses’ insurance costs.

Another complicating factor is that some fire departments are private corporations, such as the Waubeka department, who contract with municipalities, while others are operated by their municipality.

Trustees ultimately voted to join the study so they would have a “seat at the table.”

“I’m not against dropping three grand to be part of this study. I think there’s a lot of value we can get from the study and we can give to the study,” Village President Don Dohrwardt said.

Trustee Dan Gehrke agreed.

“I would feel better paying the money just to be in,” he said.

The board voted 6-1 to approve joining the study, with Haas voting no.