WALWORTH COUNTY, Wis. — Sugar Creek is the second municipality in six months to end its fire service agreement with the Elkhorn Area Fire Department.
READ ALSO | Sugar Creek neighbors question tax spending after town's fire department decision
Town of Sugar Creek Chairman David Robers spoke exclusively to TMJ4's Chief Investigative Reporter Jenna Rae about what led to the decision and why it's being made now — pointing to investigative reporting on low staffing, building conditions, and a lack of transparency between the department and Elkhorn city leaders as a turning point.
"It was quite a let down, I'm sorry to say," Robers said.
"This town's always had a good fire department, a majorly good fire department, and had a lot of pride in the fire department, and to see this kind of stuff and the condition of the firehouse, it's just, it's appalling, you know? Where's this money been going?" Robers added.
When asked how long the town had been questioning where the money was going, Robers said the concerns had been building.
Watch: Sugar Creek chairman speaks out on decision to leave Elkhorn Area Fire Department
"Actually, over the last year or two, we were just assuming it was going to where it belongs. Part of it's my fault I should've been a lot more aware of what's going on," Robers said.
Elkhorn city leaders said the millions of dollars levied in a 2020 referendum have gone toward paying for things like first responder salaries, upgrading equipment, and fixing firehouse conditions.
Right now, the Elkhorn Area Fire Department (EAFD) is only staffing to meet the minimum requirement per shift. Despite having an early 2025 study stating some conditions inside the firehouse were poor and needed fixing, repairs only began this year.
Robers said he was not notified when that study first came out.
"Left out of the loop, it's like it feels like they're trying to hide something," Robers said.
Robers said he has no proof the city of Elkhorn is hiding something, but said TMJ4's reporting solidified the town's decision to end its agreement with Elkhorn.
"It helped bring the township awareness to it to us, 'hey we gotta do something about this so,'" Robers said.
Sugar Creek will still receive emergency services from the Elkhorn Area Fire Department for the next three years. The plan to get those services from East Troy instead is already underway.
"They're actually going to be moving on the ground, we're gonna build a building for them right here, and we'll have a firehouse right here on property," Robers explained.
When asked whether taxpayers should expect a change when the town eventually switches over to East Troy, Robers said costs could improve.
"Hopefully it will go down," Robers said.
In the last few weeks, another paramedic left the Elkhorn Area Fire Department, leaving the department running calls with only three paramedics on staff total.
"It makes me very concerned. I just hope nothing ever happens," Robers said. "We're living on borrowed time because something's gonna happen and it's gonna be a bad, bad thing."
This is a story TMJ4 is continuing to stay on top of.
This story was reported on-air by Jenna Rae and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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