The Wauwatosa Professional Firefighters Association, Local 1923, is open to supporting a potential merger of the Tosa and West Allis fire department, which its president calls "a defining moment for both cities," though the union also is calling for "clarity, fairness and respect" as talks progress between the two cities.
The West Allis Common Council already has authorized formal negotiations to develop a potential plan for a joint department. The Wauwatosa Common Council is scheduled to vote on a similar authorization Sept. 30. Council members discussed that measure at a committee meeting Sept. 23 at City Hall and on Zoom.
Tosa Forward News contacted Wauwatosa's Local 1923 in advance of the meeting seeking further comment, and on Sept. 22, the union's president, Jeff Dethloff, responded by email summarizing the comments he planned to make.
"Local 1923 remains open to supporting this merger, but our optimism is tempered by the need for clarity, fairness, and respect. We have cooperated fully with the merger study and are willing to move forward in good faith," Dethloff said. "Let me emphasize once more: This is a defining moment for both cities to invest in their people, to show firefighters they are valued, and to create a destination combined department that we can all be proud of."
He later read a longer statement to the committee that stressed the union's support was "not unconditional" and depended on assurances that the cities would ensure firefighters would be supported and that the joint department would work to become a favored destination for new hires. The full statement was posted on the union's Facebook page here.
Earlier this year, the two cities contracted with a consultant, McMahon Associates, to study the two fire departments and determine the benefits and viability of a merger. In a 40-page report and in presentations to the two cities' councils, McMahon Associates explained how a merger would achieve the two communities’ shared goal of maintaining a high level of service while ensuring the fire operations’ financial viability at a time when many municipalities are struggling with rising costs and state limits on tax levy increases.
Several city officials, including Tosa Fire Chief Jim Case, have spoken in favor of a merger. Mayor Dennis McBride has been among the most vocal supporters, and he addressed the committee on Sept. 23 to urge passage of the resolution.
"Tonight, you're being asked to chart the future of Wauwatosa," McBride said. "If we don't merge our department with West Allis, our ability to provide adequate fire service will continue to decline."
You can see video of the full discussion here. It starts about 8 minutes in.
The committee voted 6-1 to recommend the resolution for adopty by the full Tosa council next week. It would direct city staff over the next 30 to 90 days to develop the potential terms for a department merger. Both cities' councils then would have to approve the resulting agreement for it to take effect.
"This is not a vote on merger, nor is there a done deal," Ernst Franzen of District 4 said before the vote. "It's a big step toward merger, but we're asking staff to put together a deal."
McMahon Associates found that “both fire departments have a long history of providing exemplary service, while earning the trust and appreciation of their respective communities,” it said in its report.
A combined department could realize savings of $7 million in the first five years, according to McMahon Associates, with an estimated 11 fewer employees needed and fewer reserve vehicles. Maintaining the two cities’ separate departments, on the other hand, “threatens the current level of service” because of statutory limits on both cities’ tax levy increases. Those limits could require the cities to make a one-year reduction in costs of $2 million, the report says.
Amanda Fuerst, a council member from District 7, said she has talked to constituents about the potential department consolidation, and "I've heard nothing negative."
Joe Phillips of District 6, on the other hand, raised concerns about lingering uncertainty in the plan and the underlying "austerity" that the city is forced to operate under because of state limits on municipal tax levies.
"I don't like this merger," Phillips said. "It doesn't resolved the structural problems that we face. ... We might be trading one problem for another."
Phillips still voted in favor of directing city staff to develop the terms of a possible merger. Joseph Makhlouf from District 3 voted no. "I don't like this," he said before identifying a range of concerns about rushing into an agreement.
Despite receiving a positive response from some Tosa officials, the merger proposal also has raised numerous unanswered questions, such as how the joint department would be governed, how costs would be distributed between the two cities, whether the culture of the two departments could be blended, how Wauwatosa’s combined police and fire dispatch center would be affected and whether tax increases still would be necessary to maintain services at current levels.
At least some of those questions are expected to be answered by city staff members if the council authorizes them next week to begin negotiating the terms of a potential agreement with West Allis.
Case, during an informational open house on Sept. 18 at City Hall, told Tosa Forward News that the unions have been included as a stakeholder in merger talks from the beginning.
The two cities' top fire officials have discussed informal collaborative opportunities for the past couple years, Case said, "but once we got to the point where maybe we really start looking at true combined departments, we recognized the people it impacts, aside from our customers and our citizens, is union firefighters."
Under current staffing levels, Wauwatosa employs has six captains, 12 lieutenants, 15 engineers and 59 firefighters. West Allis employs 10 captains, 12 lieutenants, 12 engineers and 51 firefighters. The exact staffing levels of a potential combined department would still need to be negotiated, though initial estimates indicate a consolidation would result in a reduction of only three of those positions, through vacancies left unfilled.
- David Paulsen, a Tosa East Towne resident and editor of Tosa Forward News, has more than 25 years of experience as a professional journalist. He can be reached at editor@tosanews.com.
