Members of the Wauwatosa Common Council, at a meeting Sept. 9 to discuss a proposed merger of the Wauwatosa and West Allis fire departments, expressed a range of sometimes conflicting opinions that seemed to circle a central tension: The prospect of a consolidated department is filled with uncertainty, and may be inevitable.
"This will be likely the largest merger in the state," Mark Rohloff of the consulting firm McMahon Associates told the council. His prediction partly reflects the fact that Wauwatosa and West Allis are two of Wisconsin's most populous municipalities and the largest cities in Milwaukee County outside of the City of Milwaukee.
No Tosa-West Allis fire merger has yet been authorized, either in concept or in detail, though Rohloff, a former Oshkosh city manager, and his colleague Timm Schabbel, a former fire chief from South Bend, Indiana, opened the Tosa council's meeting by providing an overview of their 40-page report recommending consolidation of the two departments.
In the report and to the council, they 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.
After the consultants' presentation, Wauwatosa Fire Chief Jim Case addressed the council and gave his endorsement of a merger.
"If this is going to happen — and I truly think it will at some point; if it's not now, it will down the road with other fire departments — I'd rather be the one building the plan and having a say in how this is going to work, rather than jumping on board later and having to live with someone else's decisions."
To underscore his support, he cited the Wauwatosa Fire Department's mission to provide exemplary emergency services to Tosa residents. Maintaining that level of service is his top priority, Case said, and "it's apparent that this [merger] will help us be better at that mission."
"We're still going to be in the City of Wauwatosa. We're still going to be providing those services. ... This is something that I think will be best for our citizens."
VIDEO: The full council meeting can be viewed here.
REPORT: Read McMahon Associates summary here.
When the meeting moved to questions from the Common Council, however, the reaction was a mix of enthusiasm and trepidation.
"I'm going to keep an open mind," Mike Morgan of District 7 said. He acknowledged the stated benefits, though he wondered why such a merger was needed now.
James Moldenhauer of District 1 suggested he was convinced that a merger now was the city's best way to preserve its fire and EMS services. "We have to maintain our service levels," he said, and the potential savings identified by McMahon Associates had exceeded his expectations.
"This is somethig we definitely need to embrace," Moldenhauer said.
But Joseph Makhlouf of District 3 thought the city was rushing to a decision when more deliberation was needed first. He and others raised numerous unansered 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.
"I don't want to pursue this too quickly," Makhlouf said. "We're not in a situation where we need to rush to get this done."
The representatives from McMahon Associates said those details, though still to be ironed out, may be an easier lift for Wauwatosa and West Allis than for other jurisdictions because the two cities' departments operate at similiar sizes and levels of service. Both have about 100 firefighters responding to a comparable number of calls — and both face financial challenges that could be addressed partly by sharing an administrative staff.
A combined department could realize savings of $7 million in the first five years, the contractor's study concluded, with an estimated 11 fewer administrative employees needed and maintaining fewer reserve vehicles.
Keeping two separate departments, on the other hand, “threatens the current level of service” because of statutory limits on both cities’ tax levy increases, McMahon Associates said in its report. Those limits could require the cities to make a one-year reduction in costs of $2 million.
At one point in the Sept. 9 meeting, Wauwatosa Finance Director John Ruggini cited the real-world impact of those limits when he noted that city leaders are preparing a 2026 city budget that starts with an operational deficit in the fire department because of rising costs. Without being able to raise taxes high enough to fill that gap, city leaders expect they will need to eliminate at least one position at the fire department next year, Ruggini said. More staff cuts could follow.
In addition to the cost savings in a consolidated department, state law allows municipalities more flexibility to raise taxes if they collaborate on fire services. Amanda Fuerst of District 7 pressed Ruggini on that point, saying she didn't think taxpayers would favor a tax increase after being told the merger would save money.
Ruggini responded that fire service costs will continue to rise even after a merger, and the greater statutory flexibility at least would give the Common Council the option to decide whether to cut costs or increase tax support accordingly.
Under existing state law, without a joint fire department, "even if you wanted to spend more money on the fire department, you would not have that option available to you," Ruggini said.
He also emphasized that Wauwatosa could qualify for additional millions of dollars through Wisconsin's Innovation Grant program if it consolidates with West Allis, money that the two cities could use to help offset the initial costs of transitioning to one department. That pool of money, however, may not be available later if the cities wait.
Joe Phillips of District 6 said he was concerned that the challenges identified by council members and other city leaders were being glossed over. "I feel like we're being asked to rush this a little bit because of this innovation grant," he said.
Phillips added that he has never received a single complaint about the Wauwatosa Fire Department from one of his constituents and wants to ensure they remain satisfied with the department's service.
City Administrator James Archambo said a merger, if approved, would not happen overnight. He estimated a timeline of about three years to completion.
The council meeting was the latest in a series of events this month related to the proposed merger, including an information session for Tosa residents 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in City Hall’s Lower Civic Center, 7725 W. North Ave.
The Common Council is expected to vote Sept. 30 on whether to authorize negotiations with West Allis on the terms of a possible merger, which still would need to be approved by both cities before moving forward.
"What were going to be considering is whether to continue the discussion," Mayor Dennis McBride said at the end of the Sept. 9 meeting. No decision has been made, McBride said, though he also spoke strongly in favor of a merger as possibly the city's best option.
"We began the discussion with two firm commitments. ... The first is, whatever we do, we are committed to at least preserving the level of service we have, if not enhancing it," McBride said. The other consideration is financial, and the evidence shows a merger is "to our financial advantage, our mutual financial advantage."
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