"We wanted to identify a professional regional name that reflects who we are now and who we will be, moving into the future," Interim Chief Barbara Kadrich said.
The proposed merger of Wauwatosa’s and West Allis’ fire departments cleared another significant hurdle this week as the Wauwatosa Common Council voted in favor of a preliminary list of terms for a final agreement.
On Dec. 12, the firefighters’ Local 1923 sent a letter addressed to Mayor Dennis McBride and the 16 members of the council sounding an alarm about labor uncertainty in proposed Tosa-West Allis fire mergrer.
Under Wauwatosa's current policy, the department does not collect any payments directly from patients who live in Milwaukee County after seeking insurance reimbursement.
The 13-1 vote authorizes city staff to begin negotiating the terms of a possible agreement while seeking answers to some of the remaining questions about how such a merger would work and how a joint department would be managed and governed.
The Wauwatosa Professional Firefighters Association 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."
The bell outside Wauwatosa's fire headquarters originally rang on the USS Wisconsin, commissioned in 1901. A group wants to move it to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc.
In a Common Council discussion, members seemed to circle a central tension: The prospect of a consolidated department is filled with uncertainty, and may be inevitable.
A combined department could realize savings of $7 million in the first five years, the study concluded. The public is invited to learn more about the proposal at meetings in September.
