Town of Delafield referendum, Fire & Rescue on August ballot
DELAFIELD, Wis. - Voters in the town of Delafield will have a $450,000 question for them on the August ballot. A referendum is tied to fire protection services.
Fire department referendum
The backstory:
Town of Delafield voters will be asked if the town should fund an additional $450,000 a year through 2030 for Lake Country Fire & Rescue services.
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"For the average town of Delafield household, it’s $143 per year," Lake Country Fire & Rescue Chief Matthew Fennig said.
Lake Country Fire & Rescue Chief Matthew Fennig
Fennig said approving the referendum will fund Lake Country Fire & Rescue's staffing plan. He added that the seven communities the department serves approved the plan in May.
"At that point, we’d have 12 people on duty, 24/7, 365 out of the three stations that we respond out of," Fennig said.
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What they're saying:
The increase in staff comes at a critical time. Fennig said last month alone saw more water-related rescues than fires. The new staff members would be full-time positions. When openings were part-time, he said they were difficult to fill.
And if the referendum fails?
"The town of Delafield will have to go through and look at their budget and look at other ways they can potentially cut and fund the fire department," Fennig said.
Input from voters
What they're saying:
"We enjoy a very low tax rate in the town of Delafield compared to other communities in the metropolitan area," town resident Judith Fiducci said. "For the average homeowner, I think it’s very doable."
The more Fiducci thinks about it, the more in favor she is with a proposal to increase her taxes. She is talking about a referendum on the August ballot.
"The nature of our town since we moved here 27 years ago has changed," Fiducci said. "There are many more subdivisions."
Lake Country Fire & Rescue
FOX6 News spoke with a few other voters off camera – all were in favor of the referendum.
What's next:
The town will hold two Q&A sessions with the public next week – at the town hall and the town fire station. Tuesday’s meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at the town hall. Thursday’s meeting is an open house at the town fire station at 6 p.m.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Bret Lemoine and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Judith Fiducci, Matthew Fennig, Town of Delafield voters and FOX6 News reporting.