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Delafield considers other fire service options to end Lake Country agreement
The City of Delafield is exploring alternative options to end its agreement with Lake Country Fire & Rescue.
DELAFIELD, Wis. - A local fire department’s future might be extinguished.
What we know:
The City of Delafield is looking at options to possibly end its agreement with Lake Country Fire & Rescue.
Delafield’s City Council meeting on Monday night, July 21, was all about crunching the numbers.
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At issue is the funding formula among the seven communities that Lake Country Fire & Rescue serves. The city is the third-largest in the group by population, but accounts for 43% of LCFR calls for service.
Mayor Tim Aicher outlined four possible options for the city:
Keep the existing LCFR contract as is, amend the agreement, start an independent fire department or find a new partner.
What they're saying:
City Administrator Tom Hafner said the city has already requested a service proposal from Western Lakes Fire District.
"We’re looking at something where the cost per capita is similar to our partners," Hafner said. "We’ll be interested to see what kind of proposal Western Lakes has for us – it’s quite possible it could be more expensive than the proposal we are currently in."
The Town of Delafield worries LCFR resources aren’t being shared proportionately. The town is the largest municipality in the group in terms of population.
Town chairman Edward Kranick said its fire station had to close 18 days this May due to staffing issues.
"We voted on a referendum to expand the fire department and get it to the level we wanted," Todd Stuckart said.
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Members of the public spoke on Monday in support of the city sticking with LCFR.
"LCFR has a great reputation for service and standards," resident Richard Schlesinger said.
What's next:
The Town of Delafield Board is talking about this issue at its meeting on Tuesday night, July 22.
Hafner said the city asked Western Lakes for that service proposal on Tuesday.
A cost estimate should be complete by September.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.