Waubeka Fire, town won’t join study on shared services

The Waubeka Fire Department and the Town of Fredonia will not join a study to explore forming a regional fire and emergency medical service.

Seven municipalities in Ozaukee County — including the  villages of Saukville and Fredonia and the City of Port Washington — have joined the study, which will be conducted by the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

After a presentation on the issue by Waubeka Fire Chief Jason Caswell, the town supervisors did not vote but indicated they weren’t interested in the project.

“(Consolidation) is more appropriate for the south end of the county” where the population is more dense, Town Supr. Jim Stemper said.

The idea of consolidation has been discussed off and on for several years due to the difficulty departments have in recruiting volunteer members and the rising cost of vehicles and equipment.

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 then use the data to present service sharing or consolidation options, their potential fiscal and governance  impacts and possible next steps. Its conclusions are expected to be presented to the communities by the end of the year.

The cost of the study is $22,000, with participating communities sharing the cost equally.

“It sounds like they want to involve all nine (Ozaukee County) departments,” Waubeka Fire Chief Jason Caswell told the Town Board last week. “It’s not required that every department get involved.”

The Belgium Fire Department, which is a private corporation like the Waubeka Fire Department, has not decided whether to join in the study.