The Milwaukee Post

September 20, 2013 • Milwaukee Post • 13 Cudahy, St. Francis, South Milwaukee fire departments could consolidate Three communities have similarities, already pool resources By DAVE FIDLIN Special to The Post MILWAUKEE – Citing a number of similarities and shared services, a nonpartisan research group recently asserted the Cudahy, South Milwaukee and St. Francis fire departments could form a consolidated force. With rising costs, declining financial contributions from the state and the reality that Gov. Scott Walker's Act 10 legislation does not fully impact fire and police personnel, municipal leaders throughout Wisconsin have stepped up exploratory efforts to combine resources. The Public Policy Forum, a locally based nonprofit touting itself as a watchdog group aimed at promoting government effectiveness, last week released a study that outlined the merits of having a joint fire department. The organization asserted a consolidated department could yield annual savings ranging from $67,000 to $890,000 between the three communities. Furthermore, the PPF says the three communities could save $1.7 million in vehicle replacement costs over a sevenyear period of time. Prior to releasing its report, PPF staff interviewed personnel – including each of the three fire chiefs – from the departments. "While St. Francis is distinct from the other two cities in geographic size and population, there are many similarities among (the three communities) in terms of important characteristics like population density and income," researcher Davida Amenta and PPF President Rob Henken wrote in the report. "Furthermore, we find that a strong cooperative relationship already exists between the three fire departments. "Those factors suggest that a logical next step for those interested in pursuing additional cooperation would be a fully consolidated department." If the three fire departments were to consolidate, the PPF suggested Cudahy could close one of its two fire stations. A combined South Shore department could house one station in each of the three communities. Presently, South Milwaukee and St. Francis each have one department. In their report, Amenta and Henken said there are three possible scenarios if a consolidated department were formed. One scenario outlines a proposal to have 18 fire and EMS personnel on staff at any given time, with six persons working at each fire station. Another scenario proposes 15 fire and EMS personnel working each shift, with five stationed at each of the three facilities. The final scenario suggests Cudahy could serve as a centralized fire station with an additional paramedic unit. A minimum of 17 people would be working, five each in St. Francis and South Milwaukee, and seven in Cudahy . PPF says the greatest savings – upward of $890,000 annually – would be achieved under the 15-person staffing proposal. While it found merit in pooling resources, the PPF acknowledged there are a number of potential complications, including differing cost savings between each of the three communities. The organization said response times could also come into question. "Based on our meetings with leaders of the three communities, however, we are optimistic about the prospects for an intergovernmental agreement that would amicably address the specifics of paying for a consolidated department should the three cities decide to pursue that approach," Amenta and Henken wrote. Henken briefly discussed the report last week at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Cooperation Council of Milwaukee County, a consortium of the 19 mayors and village presidents overseeing municipalities. Henken said the PPF will continue to look at further pooling of resources with collaboration from municipal leaders. None of the three mayors openly commented on the report at the ICC meeting. Milwaukee County already has one consolidated fire department. North Shore was formed in 1995 and serves seven municipalities: Bayside, Brown Deer, Fox Point, Glendale, River Hills, Shorewood and Whitefish Bay . Y O U R ★ N E X T J O B I S H E R E ! GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS.com • MILWAUKEE • WAUKESHA • OZAUKEE • WASHINGTON Your Next Job Starts Here Job Seekers ~ Search local and national jobs ~ Build resumes ~ Create saved search alerts to receive notifications when new jobs match your search criteria ~ Save job listings to view or apply to later ~ Easy to use and effective seeker tools to make job searches more organized and efficient Employers ~ Post and manage jobs 24/7 ~ Response reports to see how many times your ad has beeen viewed and applied to ~ Track and store applicants ~ Create and store custom folders to organize your applicants Y O U R ★ N E X T J O B I S H E R E ! GREATERmilwaukeeJOBS.com • MILWAUKEE • WAUKESHA • OZAUKEE • WASHINGTON

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