Editor’s note: the following information has been provided through Mueller Communications, LLC, a contracted public relations firm working with the city of Whitewater.
The city of Whitewater has submitted a resolution to the Walworth and Jefferson county clerks placing a referendum question on Nov. 8, 2022, ballots. Voters will be asked whether or not to increase property tax levies to support the city’s share of EMS staffing improvements.
The Whitewater Fire Department provides fire and EMS services to the city and town of Whitewater, and the towns of Cold Spring, Johnstown, Koshkonong, Lima Center, and Richmond. Under the proposed EMS staffing recommendations, each community would pay its fair share of a $1.47 million increase in funding, beginning in 2023. The city of Whitewater’s share of the increase, based on a calculation that takes into account the equalized value of a community, and a five-year average of EMS call volume, would be $1.1 million.
If approved, the increased funding would support up to 17 full-time, paid-on-premises firefighter/EMTs. Seventeen full-time staff would make it possible to have a fully-staffed, onsite EMS response 24/7, helping to address increased calls for service, surging response times and a lack of available paid-on-call staff.
“Like departments across the state, our community is no longer served best by a paid-on-call staff. There is a critical need to invest in highly trained, full-time, EMT personnel to be in-station and responsive to the Whitewater community,” said Kelly Freeman, chief of the Whitewater Fire Department.
For decades, the Whitewater Fire Department has relied on a paid-on-call staffing model. This model, which requires on-call staff to leave their homes or jobs to respond first to the station, then to the incident, is no longer providing an adequate level of service to Whitewater. In 2020, 41% of EMS calls had a more than five minute initial departure time, meaning staff did not leave the station to travel to the incident until five or more minutes after the initial call came in. This trend continued in 2021. As a result, a large number of EMS calls made to the Whitewater Fire Department were answered by a neighboring community, resulting in longer response times to Whitewater residents.
In November, City of Whitewater residents will be asked whether they support an increased property tax levy of $1.1 million to fund improved EMS staffing. If approved, the annual tax impact would be an increase of $67 per $100,000 home value in Walworth County and a $52 annual increase per $100,000 home value in Jefferson County. This increase takes into account reduced mill rates tied to increasing levy limits by the amount allowable by state law and the closing of tax incremental districts (TIDs).
“We are at a critical juncture to determine the level of fire and EMS services we want in our community. These challenges are not unique to our city. We are seeing departments across the state facing the need to ask residents to enhance EMS and fire services by increasing the property tax levy,” said Lisa Dawsey Smith, president of the City of Whitewater Common Council.
In the coming weeks and months, city and department officials will be working to educate the community about the need for improved staffing, the costs associated with its recommended staffing plan and the upcoming referendum. Additional information, including a list of upcoming information sessions, will soon be available at https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/582/Referendum.
Whitewater Municipal Building, file photo/Kim McDarison.
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