City of Marshfield’s Public Safety Referendum on April 1st Ballot; Next Informational Meeting March 13th

Wednesday, March 12th, 2025 -- 12:00 PM

Marshfield residents will have an important referendum question on the April 1st ballot.

Voters in the Marshfield area will have the opportunity to vote for the 2025 Public Safety Referendum for the Marshfield Fire and Rescue Department. I had the opportunity to speak with Everett Mueller, Fire Chief for the Marshfield Fire and Rescue Department, and he discussed the referendum, the cost to taxpayers, and more.

Listen to the interview with Chief Mueller here!

Again, this referendum will be on the April 1st ballot for Marshfield residents. If you like to learn more, you can contact the Marshfield Fire and Rescue Department or the City of Marshfield’s website: https://www.ci.marshfield.wi.us/community/public_safety_referendum.php.

(AI assisted transcription of the interview by Otter.ai):

Chief Mueller: "Thank you for the question. You know, in recent years, the demand for EMS and services in Marshfield has increased about 48% since 2000 rising from 2,390 calls, in 2000, to 3,543 in 2024, so we've definitely seen some, significant rises there."

"If you look at the long term, we have seen that increase in the last couple years. Our highest year would have been right after COVID. We'd have been right around 4,044 calls, and that was really because the EMS and medical system was trying to catch up."

"In the last couple years, we've seen kind of a drop a little bit last year being 3,543, but the overall trend is it actually shot up over that time with that 48% increase, if you go ahead and do the numbers on it."

"Another thing that we would really have with this one is fires today burn, hotter and faster requiring more personnel to respond effectively. When we look at NFPA, 1710 standards, they actually use the residential fire study, which calls for 17 firefighters if you have a ladder truck and 15 if you're not using the ladder truck."

"And with that, we're well below those numbers right now. We have 11 personnel. And, as you know, back in 2021 we lost about two people, actually three people, during that time frame, due to some budgetary issues we had in the city at that point."

"We've been trying to kind of work towards getting back to that. Last year, we were able to replace one of those positions, and in doing that, we have two positions that are still available."

"Since 2016, we've also seen some overlapping emergency calls that have increased by about 18%. I mean multiple emergencies at one stretch, which can stretch our resources and really, really spread us thin within the city."

"A lot of times we're relying on outer departments, meaning Spencer, Stratford, and also Pittsville Fire Department. We've never had to reach out to Neillsville at this point, but we've always had those three as resources that we could use."

"The one thing we have there is they've got a long response time in and that's always been kind of a big problem for us. And in previous years, or in years, we've really tried to make sure that we've got the resources available, not only with staff, but also making sure we have five ambulances in the city in the event that one would break down, we have that availability, to make sure that we have the resources available for additional calls like that."

"And then without additional staff, we risk longer response times or reduced effectiveness in emergency situations. So, again is we have to go ahead and utilize the surrounding departments."

"You're going to have that longer response time in. And most of these departments aren't staffed on a regular basis like we are. We're a full time department. Those departments have a, you know, basically where they have an on call status, meaning they get the page, then they have to drive from wherever they are, whether they be at their job, at home, wherever the location would be."

"They have to drive to the station. They have to get in the ambulance there, and then they have to respond out. So they've got quite a delay when it comes time to respond back into our community. So, those are some of the main reasons that we'd really want to see the two personnel replaced, and why we're asking for this referendum."

Riley: "The Department is essentially asking to get these additional personnel, two personnel, correct?"

Chief Mueller: "That is correct. Actually, we're asking for about $256,903 annually to hire and retain two full time firefighter/paramedics, which would be the two staff."

"Actually, we lost the three, but this would be the two to get us back to the total of 12 that we had in 2021. This funding would restore staffing levels of 2021 standards ensured we can respond quickly and effectively to emergencies, and that's our overall encompassing goal here."

Riley: "If it passes, what will cost the average Marshfield taxpayer?"

Chief Mueller: "So, the cost of the taxpayer depends on the property value. So, they look at $100,000 home. We're looking at about $13.28, per year with it. Then it breaks down to about $1.11 per month. If they have a $200,000 home, you're looking at $26.55 per year and $2.21, per month."

"Again, this is a small investment for faster emergency response times and improved community safety. Not only we asking for this money, but I'm also a resident here in the city of Marshfield, and I would be applying these these figures to myself as well."

Riley: "What happens if this passes during the April 1st Election?"

Chief Mueller: "Well, we'd be starting to grow towards that 17 number, or the 15 firefighters if we're not using an engine or, I'm sorry, a ladder truck. So, we'd be improving on those numbers, and it'd get us back to 12 for the staff."

"That means we're going to have more personnel for fire response. That means we're going to have more personnel for concurrent calls. We can really bring our minimum staffing up to nine firefighters per shift. Right now we're at eight, and it does lead to some different issues that we have to deal with internally, and it would definitely help with that."

"But overall, we'd be looking at faster response times and better outcomes and emergencies, and we'd be looking at adequate staffing to manage growing fire intensity and medical emergencies and improved ability to handle those multiple calls at one time. So, that would be the overall goal behind getting these getting this referendum approved and getting those two personnel back."

Riley: "What happens if the referendum fails?"

Chief Mueller: "Well, we'd continue to have the strain on emergency services. Call volumes continue to outpace available staff. We would have slower response times, putting lives and property at greater risk, and we'd have increased difficulty in handling multiple emergencies at the same time."

"So, I mean, those are going to be the bigger issues that we would have in this particular issue. And again, this is going to be building on those NFPA, 1710 ISO, and some of the stuff that we'll see in the future for OCEAN 1910 just continuing to build in that direction with the overall idea that we're going to get those staff back so that we can actually respond and make sure that we've got those adequate staff."

Riley: "Is there anything else you'd like our listeners to know?"

Chief Mueller: "You bet. Again, this referendum is all about public safety. We want to ensure that when you call us, or a loved one calls us, we have all the resources that you need to make sure that we can respond as fast as possible."

"And we really would encourage everyone to attend our in person and virtual listening sessions to learn more. Some of the in person locations that we would have looking at, session two is going to be at the hotel Marshfield, which is located at 2700 South Central Avenue, Marshfield, Wisconsin, that'll be March 13, 2025 at 6:30pm and then our third session is going to be at The Community Center at the Grundle Room that's over at 211 East Second Street, Marshfield, Wisconsin, and it's going to be March 27 2025 at 6:30pm"

"So, I really encourage everybody to come out and listen. And we've got a pretty good presentation put together. And that really is the big or the big part, where people can actually interact with us and ask us the questions they're looking for."

"And then I would remind everybody that early early voting runs from March 18 through the 28th and Election Day is April 1. And for more details, they can also visit our website, which is ci.marshfield.wi.us, backslash referendum, and we're going to be putting more information on that site so that we can continue to do things and get information out to the public as we get more questions."

"Another thing you would find under two is a frequently asked question flyer. And then we've also got a flyer that's going on to the community, just to kind of tell them a little bit about what's going on."

"It's a two pages flyer, and then the frequently asked question is a six page document that really goes through everything and kind of explains the overall process of what we're looking to do."

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.