April ballot to include referendum for EMS funding in 4 Ozaukee Co. communities

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Now more than ever, some fire chiefs on the north shore say they need more help. The April ballot will include public safety referendums in four communities to allow them funding to hire more full-time staff. We attended an informational session in Cedarburg Tuesday night.

Those four communities are Cedarburg, Port Washington, Grafton and Saukville. All four have been hosting meetings, just like this one, to be sure voters know all the facts before they head to the polls April 2.

Responding to emergencies has been especially tough as calls for service have gone up 80% in Grafton and 50% in neighboring Saukville.

"Saukville has three full-time firefighters, which is one a day, and Grafton has six full-time firefighters, which means two a day," said Chief William Rice, Grafton and Saukville Fire Departments.

Paid on-call staff supplement those numbers, but keeping those workers on a regular basis can be difficult.

"If tonight was your night to be on-call with the ambulance, you may be going out two, three times through the course of the night. Then at 6 a.m. you're getting up to go on your job, and those two things just don't work so well," said Chief Rice.

Cedarburg's also seen a drop in volunteer firefighters. That's hard as calls for service are increasing.

"People will give you the time that they have, but people are busy nowadays. Their kids are involved in sporting activities. They're running around in-state, out of state, taking their kids to tournaments, and they don't have the time to commit," said Chief Jeffrey Vahsholtz, Cedarburg Fire Department.

Cedarburg was able to hire its first two firefighter paramedics through the AARPA funds this year, but they need more medics.

"Currently we're relying on Southern Ozaukee Fire Department, which is housed in the city of Mequon for that paramedic service, and we have to wait for them to travel up here to assist us. So having a staff of paramedics gets that ambulance out the door quickly," said Chief Vahsholtz.

Cedarburg would like to add eight full-time firefighter paramedics. Grafton-Saukville want 13 new full-time hires. It all comes at a cost.

Property taxes on a $100,000 home would go up $67 in Cedarburg, $57 in the Town of Cedarburg and $91 in Port Washington. In the Village of Grafton, it's just over $94, in the Town of Grafton $52 and in Saukville, $64.

Again, the election is just two weeks away on April 2.