Residential Growth in Racine County (WI) Challenges Firefighters

According to a report from The Journal Times, the increasing residential growth of Racine County, Wisconsin, is once again placing the consolidation of its fire services under the microscope.

On Wednesday, the Raymond Village Board held a special meeting to consider a fire department proposal to boost spending by up to $736,000 a year, an increase to the average homeowner’s property tax bill of $454. The board agreed to being planning for a possible referendum in April 2023.

Consultant Kevin Bierce advised board officials that consolidation of fire services with neighboring departments may be an alternative to increasing spending and staffing, spreading out costs across multiple municipalities whose first responders are already responding to major incidents across borders.

Some communities have even already consolidated other service, such as parks and public works. In eastern Racine County, the Sturtevant and Mount Pleasant communities already share a fire department through South Shore, and the Racine Water Utility provides water Caledonia, Mount Pleasant, Wind Point, and Sturtevant in addition to its own city.

The Raymond Fire & Rescue Department (RFRD), which operates with a part-time and volunteer staff, along with the Union Grove-Yorkville and Kansasville fire departments, considered consolidation last year after the Wisconsin Policy Forum research group study found that combining the three departments might help address staffing and operational issues for fire and ambulance service in the western part of the county.

However, no action on consolidation has occurred, and Union Grove and Yorkville officials recently talked about seeking voter support for new $9 million fire station for the department serving the two towns.

Raymond village officials now are concerned that expanding staffing for Raymond Fire & Rescue could eventually lead to more spending increases later for improved equipment and facilities.

Village Trustee Keith Kastenson said increasing property taxes on Raymond’s 4,000 residents will leave some feeling betrayed by the town’s promise of a rural lifestyle with low government spending.

RFRD officials are cautioning village leaders that fire protection and ambulance service are suffering as residential growth increases the population. The town received 505 calls for service in 2021, an increase of more than 30 percent from 2020.

The increasing demand for calls, combined with recruitment and constant staff scheduling issues, is slowing response times and increasing the risks to public safety.

RFRD Chief Adam Smith and Assistant Chiefs Kevan Leedle and Jacob Dinauer told the Village Board that taxpayers would support increased spending if they believed public safety was on the table.

The RFRD has presented options ranging hiring four full-time members at a total of $382,500 to hiring six full-time employees at a cost of $736,440 a year. This would increase the annual property tax for homeowners of the average $350,000 home from $337 to $454.

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