RICHFIELD, Wis. — Washington County's fire and EMS departments will receive a share of $2.9 million through the newly approved Washington County Shared Services Grant Program.
The program allows local fire and EMS departments to secure state funding through the county, leveraging an exception built into state law to establish a levy that helps pay for emergency services. Local fire chiefs retain control of their departments under the arrangement.
Richfield Fire Chief Greg West said funding emergency services is an ongoing challenge and that the Richfield Fire Department cannot afford to operate on its own.
"It's just not enough!" West said. "Funding EMS and fire departments is becoming more and more difficult."
Without the program, West said the department faced three difficult alternatives: taking on debt, increasing bills, or going to referendum. The new program eliminates those options by connecting the department to state funding through the county.
"This county EMS system is able to leverage the exception that was built into state law to allow a levy to be established to help pay for EMS," West said. "So, it can be sustainable and continue to provide those services to our community."
West said the department sought out the county — not the other way around.
"We approached the county looking for help," he said. "The county did not do this on their own or come to us with this idea that they're going to take over and coordinate EMS."
Richfield firefighter and EMT Zach Hornung said rising call volume is straining a department already short on staff. An aging population is driving more calls, while fewer people are available to volunteer.
"With an increase in call volume," he said. "The lack of staffing we have hurts a lot because now we're running more, we don't have the staffing and everyone is getting worn out fast."
Hornung said additional county funding would help recruit more firefighters and first responders to the department.
"It's just about helping everybody out!" he said. "No matter if it's a young kid that fell at the playground, or an elderly person that fell out of bed, I want to be there for them no matter if it's two in the morning or two in the afternoon."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist 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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