Fire EMS Study

It is important for people who aspire to be elected officials to proceed with correct facts.  That is why I was disappointed with the letter to the editor in the Daily News on 1/24/24 from Mary Ann Rzeszutek, candidate for County Board, in which she totally misunderstands the County’s Fire & EMS study.  

As the Chairman of the County's Public Safety Committee, I wanted to clear up any confusion.  I submitted a letter to the editor in response, which was printed today (1/25/24) but I also wanted to go into more detail than 300 words would allow, hence why I am also posting this blog entry.

Fire/EMS Study

The Fire and EMS study was initiated based on outreach from the various municipal fire departments in our county.  They reached out to the County, asking for help.  

The study will be reviewing fire and EMS (Emergency Medical Services) in the towns and villages, many of which are struggling with staffing and funding issues.  They rely heavily on volunteer firefighters, and have seen a decrease in community members who are volunteering in this role.  Volunteer firefighting has been a staple of our County, and can be very successful, when they have the volunteers.  As well, their equipment is aging, and new fire engines can cost upwards of $500,000.  Many townships lack the financial resources to replace their aging equipment.  Many of these townships only have a couple hundred homes, so $500,000 places a huge burden on a small number of taxpayers.

With an aging population, EMS calls to homes are seeing an increase.  More people are needing emergency medical assistance in their homes, and the fire departments provide that EMS response.  The is adding to the strain the fire departments are experiencing.

The problems the towns and villages are facing have impacted the West Bend Fire Department, who has been picking up calls for service outside of its traditional service area.  The West Bend Fire Department shares the recognition that county support is needed to solve these issues that the towns and villages are facing.

The study being done includes the formation of a task force composed of 9 community members, including several current and retired firefighters.  The committee is designed to be a cross-section of the community.  8 members have been picked out so far (as of the 1/1/24 Public Safety Committee meeting), those being:

• Chuck Beistle (FTA) – City of West Bend
• Tony Burgard (FCA) – Richfield/Hartford
• Brian Heckendorf – Jackson
• Terry Kohl – Richfield
• Paul Stephans – Hartford (retired)
• Sue Wolf (EMSA) – Addison
• Dean Wolter – Germantown
• Troy Zagel – Town of West Bend
• Additional Member to be Named - rural

911 dispatching

Since Mary Ann brought up the issue of 911 dispatching, it is worth beginning a conversation and sharing some information.  The County is not going to force a dispatching consolidation at all, but we do want the City to see this opportunity to work together for the benefit of everyone who lives in West Bend. 

The introduction of Nextgen 911 has prompted dramatical changes in the delivery of dispatching state-wide.  It wasn't all that long ago that each community has their own dispatch center.  Now, in the entire state of Wisconsin, currently only about 25 communities still have their own dispatch center, called secondary dispatch centers, and that number continues to shrink.  The model the state is transitioning to focuses on having 1 dispatch center per county, called a "primary" dispatch center.  In our County, like many counties, the County Sheriff's dispatch center is the primary 911 dispatch center. West Bend’s dispatch center is a secondary dispatch center, meaning cell-phone calls go first to the county and are answered by a County dispatcher.  The calls then get rerouted to West Bend’s dispatch center.  

The State of Wisconsin will be offering grant funding for dispatching upgrades related to Nextgen 911, but only to the primary dispatch center in each county.  This means that whenever updated software or equipment is released, Washington County's dispatch center will get those updates for free, funded by those state grants.  Unfortunately, West Bend would have to fund these upgrades on its own.  We don't know how frequent or how expensive these updates will be.

Hartford and Germantown are currently transitioning to county dispatching.  This is a free service the County offers to all municipalities.  Hartford should be completed shortly, and then the County will begin transitioning Germantown onto its dispatch center, which will take about a year to complete.

West Bend spends roughly $1 million dollars per year on its dispatch center, duplicating a service they could get for free from the County.  That’s money that could be used to fund road repairs or a new fire station.  That's the value that comes with sharing services, your tax dollars can bring a greater benefit to the community.  We all want better roads, and we all recognize a need for a new firehouse for the West Bend Firefighters.  

The County is not going to force this consolidation at all, but we do want the City to see this opportunity to work together for the benefit of everyone who lives in West Bend.  If West Bend chooses to consolidate their dispatch center with the County, we could hire the City’s dispatchers and have a dedicated dispatch desk for West Bend calls, staffed by a former West Bend dispatcher.

There is a lot of room for discussion on the benefits of West Bend consolidating dispatching as well as the benefits of West Bend maintaining a secondary dispatch center.  For that reason, I appreciate Mary Ann engaging in this conversation.  Ultimately, the City of West Bend will make its own decision on when it will chose to consolidate with the county.

Closing Thought

I like the cooperation we are seeing with the West Bend Fire department along with all of the fire departments in the County, on the Fire/EMS study.  I hope that the City of West Bend will decide to consolidate dispatching with the County, to the benefit of the taxpayers.

County Board Supervisor Linda Gurath understands all of these issues, and that’s why I am encouraging residents of District 5 to reelect Linda.  She has been an asset to the County Board, on this and other issues.

UW Extension (What is it, how is it different and separate from UWWC, and what is the county doing with it?)

There is a lot of confusion about what UW Extension is, and how it is different from UWWC (now named UWM in Washington County).  In fact, before I was first elected to the County Board, I didn't really understand very well about UW Extension and how they support and oversee 4H, even though my kids were had already been in 4H for several years.

Please note, throughout this article I will refer to UWM in Washington County as UWWC, as that is how most of us relate our 2 year college.  UWM only became involved with UWWC and renamed them in 2018.

What is UW Extension

U.W. Extension is a division of UW Madison.  They operate in all 72 counties.  They don't offer any degree programs or credit-bearing classes, nor do they receive any tuition support.  Instead, they do outreach-style education and support for 6 program missions.  Those are:

• Youth development
• Agricultural education
• Community development
• Health
• Natural resources
• Families & finance.   

4H is run through UW Extension as part of their youth development mission.  In fact, a lot of people don't realize that 4H in Wisconsin is run entirely through UW Extension.

U.W. Extension also has no campus.  Instead, they have a state office building on the U.W. Madison campus along with local offices in each of Wisconsin's 72 counties.  In Washington County, U.W. Extension has a small suite of offices in the County's Public Agency Building on Washington Avenue.

They are funded by the 72 counties, in partnership with U.W. who also contributes to their funding structure.  There is some federal funding for the various missions as well. 

Is UW Extension connected to UWWC (UWM in Washington County)?

The short answer is "no."  

UW Extension operates completely under the purview of U.W. Madison and is completely separate from any of the other U.W. schools.  Washington County sends about $400,000 per year to the U.W. Board of Regents, which is then used to support U.W. Extension's operations in our County.  Simply put, U.W. Extension is U.W. Madison's presence in all 72 counties in Wisconsin, and is not directly affiliated with UWWC (though all U.W. schools fall under the domain of the U.W. Board of Regents) .

What is the County doing with U.W. Extension?

County officials have received consistent feedback from the agricultural community concerning U.W. Extension.  That feedback is not positive.  U.W. Extension's priorities are not matching up with the needs of our community.  Other counties in Wisconsin are having a similar experience, and are taking or considering taking action similar to what Washington County has done.

Because of this feedback, we have decided to review the county's funding of U.W. Extension.  While we will keep 4H fully funded, we want to review the current arrangement with U.W. Extension, U.W. Madison, and the U.W. Board of Regents.  A steering committee is being put together, to study the situation and recommend a course of action.  Key community leaders and stakeholders will be part of this committee.  That committee may propose that we transition to a new model that has a stronger emphasis on local control and Washington County priorities, while preserving our strong roots in 4H and strengthening the agricultural education mission.  A new partner may be needed, one that will replace U.W. Extension with an organization that will support our local needs and priorities.

Once the committee makes it recommendation and it is implemented, the funding will then be awarded accordingly.  In other words, in the short term we are withholding the funding, preventing it from going to the U.W. Board of Regents, while we figure out what the right path forward is for the future of youth education and agricultural education.  In the long term, all of the funding will remain with the key missions (such as 4H) without regard to whether the partner in those missions changes.

To be absolutely clear, 4H will remain fully funded throughout this endeavor.

What is my view on this issue?

Madison often operates in a bubble, deciding their own priorities and then trying to push them onto the rest of the state.  A restructuring that provides more local control, so that we can make sure that the needs of our communities are being met, appears to be needed.  For that reason, I support preventing the funding from being passed on the the U.W. Board of Regents, and instead want that funding reserved for the potential new partner for these missions.

Preserving a strong 4H youth development program is important to many members of the County Board, including myself.  My 2 kids enjoyed Rocketry and Archery, and also had opportunities to experience other areas of interest including youth leadership, photography, model building, and cake decorating.  They each went to Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama through 4H.