The fire station issue is heating up, pardon the pun

In essence, the Fire/EMS Task Force told the people of Brookfield that relocating the fire stations was necessary because the Town of Brookfield was not interested in sharing services. Sharing services made perfect sense: The town could cover most of the uncovered southwest area in our city. Moving the fire stations to the same road, within a power walk distance from each other, did not make sense: It left 2 large sections of the densely populated east side uncovered and overlapped coverage with our other stations.

Now the Town puts a fly in the Mayor’s ointment: They send a letter to the mayor and aldermen saying, it’s not true we aren’t interested in sharing services! In fact, they give us a free trial offer of sharing fire/EMS service “at no cost” to the city. (Be sure to check pages 3 & 4 of the letter to view the coverage maps.)

The mayor says he would need more specific details about the plan - including staffing roles and a cost analysis - before it was discussed with the Common Council.

"I need something substantial that I can take to my council," he said. You could interpret that statement at face value: He wants to make sure the coverage is adequate.

Some skeptics might translate that: I need to figure out how I can put a negative spin on their free offer because I really want the fire stations moved! (Why he wants them moved will be covered in a future blog, Whose Master Plan are we following anyway?)

Alderman Lisa and Jerry Mellone sum up the situation beautifully on their website, "For the long term benefit of all taxpayers it is time to accept the town’s offer for a joint committee of elected officials and staff to work towards an agreement."

I could not agree more. Too bad Lisa or Jerry are not on the Human Resource and Public Safety Committee. They are meeting tomorrow (Wed. 7pm) to discuss and possibly act on the Fire/EMS Task Force’s recommendation to move the fire stations. They could approve, amend, or reject the Task Force recommendation. The committee consists of Reddin, Mahkorn, Garvens, Balzer, and Franz.

What do we have to lose by giving this shared service plan a try?

Why Mayor Speaker may end up making the fire station decision
More fire station details
City of Brookfield Fire Station Information

Non-Elected Officials and Fire Stations: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Don't miss the photos in Part 4

JSOnline Town offers fire service to city

Fantasy vs. Reality
3 Fire sations all in a row. Really? A Want? A need? Or just illogical?
Rule #1 when studying an issue: Don't ask any questions tht you don't want the answers to!

Links:Betterbrookfield and brookfieldnow
You may wish to check out http://newberlinnow.com/blog/?blogid=203 too. It looks like blogger Matt Thomas will touch on Brookfield, county, and state issues from time to time.
Brookfieldnow’s local officials link page