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
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.
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.
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