Informational sessions to be held on $1.63 million referendum
By Kellen Olshefski
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area Fire Department is hosting three upcoming informational sessions regarding the $1.63 million referendum that appears on the Nov. 3 presidential election ballot.
Informational sessions will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13; at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 24; and at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28. All three are being cohosted by the municipalities the fire department provides service to – the City of Elkhorn, Town of Geneva, Town of LaFayette and Town of Sugar Creek – and will be held in the James A. Wehner Auditorium at Elkhorn Area High School.
The fire department referendum asks residents of the municipalities to support a $1.63 million increase to the levy limit for 2021 and beyond to provide needed additional funding for the department to ensure that it can provide timely emergency services in the future through the addition of full-time staffing.
According to information provided by fire department officials, the $1.63 million would add to the department’s current staffing budget of $850,000, meeting the total anticipated expense of nearly $2.5 million to provide necessary services, and the total amount would be split among the communities served by the department, based on a 5-year rolling average of usage of the department’s services.
In Elkhorn, residents would see a one-time increase of $106.83 per year for every $100,000 of assessed property value if the referendum was to pass in all communities, and $182.62 per $100,000 assessed property value if the $1.63 million was funded by City of Elkhorn residents alone.
In other communities, residents would see: $28.90 a year per $100,000 of assessed property value in the Town of Geneva; $16.64 per year, per $100,000 of assessed property value in the Town of Sugar Creek; and $99.17 a year per $100,000 of assessed property value in the Town of LaFayette.
In the Town of LaFayette, the question will not be included on the ballot, as it will be asked of voters at the town’s special meeting of town electors in the form of a resolution. In LaFayette, the total annual cost of $99.17 per $100,000 of assessed property value will also include funding for road maintenance repair.
Department staffing
The department’s current staffing includes just two full-time city employees (the chief and an EMT-A/administrative secretary), four 24-hour employees contracted through Paratech, and seven 40-hour employees contracted through Paratech. The current staffing level provides at least two staff on duty 24 hours a day, except from 5 to 10 p.m. on Mondays.
Under current regulations, at least two employees are needed for an ambulance to leave the department on a call, and at least four employees for a fire engine call. Additionally, National Fire Prevention Association standards require 15 firefighters on the scene of a structure fire.
With the passage of the referendum, the staffing model would increase staff to 24 firefighter/EMS employees split between three, 24-hour shifts, with a rotating schedule in which eight employees at a time would work a 24-hour shift with 48 hours off before their next shift. The information provided notes this would also allow the department to respond to multiple calls at the same time.
The growing need
According to Fire Chief Rod Smith and Assistant Chief Dave Fladten, the need for additional full-time staffing to supplement volunteer paid-on-call staff is nothing new, but referendum law has previously required the city to include the referendum on the ballot of a presidential election.
Documents provided by Smith and Fladten show that the department’s emergency response call volume (fire and emergency medical calls) has increased by 82% during the past 10 years, with volunteer paid-on-call staff decreasing by 50% during the same period of time.
Additionally, overlapping calls for service occur at a 10% rate, leaving the station empty or the department relying on already shorthanded neighboring departments, as volunteer staff is not only decreasing in Elkhorn, but around the nation as a whole.
Of the 16 fire departments in Walworth County, nine are already using some form of paid full-time staffing, with two others conducting referendum feasibility studies currently, documents state.
“The goal is to create that awareness about why we have to do this, not want to do this, have to do this,” Fladten said. “This is absolutely a need. We want to create that awareness that we may not always be there, and there’s increasing frequency of not being able to cover calls and having to rely on mutual aid.”
Smith said the two things he sees as being the root of the problem are a lack of volunteers and a 2% tax levy cap that’s preventing the department from adding more staffing at a slower pace over several years.
“Because of the 2% levy cap, we have to do the whole project at once instead of spreading it out over a 3-year program like we had originally planned,” Smith said. “With the 2% levy cap, we’d have to keep going back to referendum every year to get the funds to do it.”
“You can’t do it, you financially are prohibited from doing incremental unless you go back for referendum vote every year for that increase,” Fladten added.
Both Fladten and Smith reiterated that the decreasing number and availability of volunteer paid-on-call staff is one of the biggest concerns.
“We don’t have staff to cover calls,” Fladten said.
In addition, Smith said it’s important for the public to understand the Elkhorn Area Fire Department is what’s considered an all-hazard fire department that covers not only Elkhorn, but several townships in the area as well.
“It isn’t just the fires,” he said. “We do car accidents, we do HAZMAT, we do water rescues, we do all of that. And our EMS call volume – it’s huge.”
While the department has contracted with Paratech for EMT services in recent years to help bridge the gap leading up to the referendum, a practice that would end if the referendum were to pass, Smith said it’s just not enough staffing to cover the calls indefinitely.
“Right now, at night, when we have a second call, we very seldom get a second crew at night,” Smith said. “At night, it’s just not feasible.”
Fladten said even with the contracted 40-hour employees there during the daytime, there are occasions where the department doesn’t have enough staffing.
“Just the last month, we’ve had a significant uptick in call volume again,” Fladten said. “We had 15 calls the other day. And I don’t see that changing. That’s an industry standard that’s happening across the board, regardless of where you are.
“It’s worked, it’s helped us, but we need to move beyond that,” he added.
“We’re trying to be proactive, not reactive,” Smith said.
It’s a common issue
Fladten noted while it’s nice to be able to count on mutual aid, it also means the department is draining the resources of neighboring departments.
“We rely on a neighbor to the north and to the south to help us out quite a bit,” he said. “But the neighbor to the north has one ambulance, and if it’s tied up on our call, then they have to rely on someone else to cover their calls. Everybody’s facing the same issue.”
According to Smith and Fladten, the passage of the referendum would mean the department can staff with paramedics versus EMTs, allowing for a greater level of care for patients. EMTs have to go through training to be certified in their field, so practice makes perfect, that is why resources like a Practice Quiz, as well as other revision education, are needed to help them work effectively.
Fladten said while Advanced EMTs (EMT-A) can start an IV and provide fluids and two medications – none of which are pain management or cardiac medications – a paramedic would be able to do that plus 64 medications for a variety of medical and trauma issues.
“In addition to the medications, we also have a higher scope of practice in regards to skillsets, additional invasive procedures, specifically for trauma patients,” Fladten said. “There’s a significant difference in the skillset allowed by the state for the EMT and the skillset allowed for the paramedic.
“If we are able to provide that paramedic-level care within minutes of being on scene, we don’t have to wait. Our closest paramedic-level provider is Lake Geneva, and that’s a minimum of 10 minutes before they’re on scene or longer,” he added.
Smith said under the current EMT-A staffing, the department has to call in a paramedic service for heart attack calls.
“It will eliminate the need to rely on mutual aid for that higher level of care,” Fladten said.
Smith also noted increased staffing would lessen the amount of minutes it takes for a crew to leave the fire department.
“When we’re staffed, we’re out the door in a minute. When we were paid-on-call, it would take them three to five minutes to get here. And some of our farthest travel points are 15 minutes. If your turnout time back then was nine minutes, you’re looking at 24 minutes before you get help if you’re out in the rural area, probably nine minutes if you’re in the city,” Smith said.
“Now it’s three minutes, 4.5 minutes, and that’s huge. Minutes matter in fire and health,” he added.
“Time is muscle, and if you’re having a stroke, time is brain,” Fladten said. “Response times are huge.”
While additional staffing will aid the department in providing a greater level of service, Smith said it’s important to note the department will not be eliminating volunteer paid-on-call staff and will still count on their assistance.
“Our paid-on-call people are still very vital to our operation,” he said, noting the referendum will only provide eight employees per shift and NFPA standards still require 15 people on a fire scene.
“We really appreciate them,” Smith continued. “We want them and need them. We’re not getting rid of them, we’re trying to help release some of that burden on them.”
Unified support
Smith and Fladten said the three other municipalities served by the department have shown overwhelming support for the referendum.
“The three towns have been very supportive, as has the city,” Fladten said. “The three towns recognize the need.”
City of Elkhorn Mayor Bruce Lechner said he agrees the increased staffing provided under the referendum is a need.
“With the increased call volume and requests, we need this to be able to increase staffing levels to meet the necessary public safety needs,” Lechner said. “I would like to see that we have the best essential services that we can provide to our community. Please get out and vote Nov. 3 on this Public Safety Referendum.”
Town of Sugar Creek Town Chairman Dale Wuttke said he’s passionate about the referendum, and it’s something he feels public leaders need to show their support for to their citizens.
“With levy limits that really handcuff us as public leaders, we are forced to do things like referendums to assure services are there for the four municipalities of Elkhorn, LaFayette, Geneva and Sugar Creek,” he said. “The volunteers just aren’t there to provide the service with the increases in the call volumes. As president of the Fire Advisory Board, we have been discussing this for the past three or four years.
“Chief Smith and Dave Fladten have been a real asset to have, telling us the truths about running emergency services and their cost and personnel needed to do the job.”
Comment from other involved officials was not available prior to deadline.
