Cedarburg Fire Department funding referendum on April ballot
CEDARBURG, Wis. - Both the city and town of Cedarburg have authorized referendums for the April ballot that, if approved, would allow the municipalities to exceed state-imposed levy limits and increase funding for the fire department.
The referendum questions will appear on ballots on Tuesday, April 2.
"In the last decade, the Cedarburg Fire Department has seen a nearly 47% increase in the number of calls for service and a 17% decrease in the number of volunteers available to respond to calls," Cedarburg Fire Chief Jeff Vahsholtz said in a news release. "Because our staffing is not keeping pace with the demand for our services, it is becoming difficult to provide the high-quality services our community deserves. Additional funding will ensure we are able to respond to emergencies in the Cedarburg community."
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To begin mitigating those challenges, the Cedarburg Fire Department said it moved from a volunteer to a paid-on-call model this year – compensating part-time staff who respond to emergencies and helping improve retention and recruitment efforts.
If approved by referendum, additional funds would improve emergency response reliability and enable changes recommended by the Joint City and Town of Cedarburg Fire and EMS Committee, including funding to:
- Add 10 additional full-time firefighter-paramedics;
- Maintain two full-time firefighter-paramedics currently funded using ARPA dollars, which will run out in 2024; and
- Adjust the fire chief position to a full-time role, helping ensure CFD has consistent leadership to manage the growing public safety needs in the city and town of Cedarburg.
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The referendum will ask voters in the city and town of Cedarburg whether they support the addition of $2,015,658 to the fire department's annual operating budget. Based on the department’s funding formula, the city’s portion of this additional budget would be approximately $1,292,302 and the town’s portion would be approximately $723,356.
In the city of Cedarburg, the fire department said it would result in a property tax increase of approximately $67.82 per $100,000 in assessed property value. In the town of Cedarburg, this would result in a property tax increase of approximately $57.08 per $100,000 in assessed property value.
Additional information about the referendum will be shared through direct mail, during information sessions and on the fire department's website.