Western Lakes Fire District referendum fails in five of seven communities; measure would have addressed staffing shortages

Voters in five of seven Waukesha County communities voted against a referendum Tuesday that called for nearly doubling the annual budget for the Western Lakes Fire District, which would enable the district to address severe staffing shortages.

Voters in the towns of Merton, Oconomowoc, Ottawa and villages of Dousman and Summit all voted "no" to the referendum question. Voters in the city of Oconomowoc and village of Lac La Belle approved the referendum. 

Western Lakes asked the seven municipalities it covers for fire and emergency medical services for $6.3 million for 33 additional in-station firefighter and paramedics, three battalion chiefs, 15 paid interns, a full-time administrator and a fire inspector. Additionally, if approved, the referendum would help raise the wages of existing staff. Currently, WLFD's annual budget runs around $6.8 million.

Each municipality was required to vote separately on the question of whether to raise its tax levy and increase property taxes.

Like many other departments across Wisconsin and the country, Western Lakes is facing a crisis as call volume goes up while volunteer numbers go down. 

As a result, Western Lakes Chief Brad Bowen said before the referendum that his team has seen increasing burnout and response times getting longer, which follows a national trend.

Since the referendum didn't pass in every municipality, it will be up to the fire district board to determine how to allocate funds coming from the municipalities. That could be a tough conversation.

"That would be the hard part if that happened because it wouldn't be fair for some communities if some are paying more for services than others," Bowen said before the referendum. "They've been sharing resources since 2013, or even 1968. How does that balance out? The community boards will have to work together."

Bowen could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

The referendum would have increased the amount collected by taxes by about $6.3 million beginning in 2023 and every year going forward. This would be spread out among the municipalities as follows: about an additional 80 cents per $1,000 of assessed value in the city of Oconomowoc, 66.24 cents per $1,000 in the town of Merton, 62.65 cents per $1,000 in the town of Oconomowoc, 77.23 cents per $1,000 in Ottawa, $1.60 per $1,000 in Dousman, 74.30 cents in Lac La Belle and 82.47 cents per $1,000 in Summit.

Referendum laws don't allow for money to be phased in over time, which is why WLFD asked for the large lump sum on this referendum, which is expected to last five to seven years.

In the end, this is how each municipality voted. Vote totals are unofficial until they are canvassed.

Town of Merton (rejected referendum)

1,105 yes

1,414 no

Town of Oconomowoc (rejected referendum)

1,195 yes

1,487 no

Town of Ottawa (rejected referendum)

432 yes

588 no

Village of Dousman (rejected referendum)

211 yes

335 no

Village of Lac La Belle (approved referendum)

88 yes

45 no

Village of Summit (rejected referendum)

738 yes

786 no

City of Oconomowoc (approved referendum)

2,144 yes

1,605 no

Reporter Quinn Clark contributed to this story.

Drew Dawson can be reached at ddawson@jrn.com or 262-289-1324.