Wausau council weighs firefighter referendum, hires talks for public-education campaign

The Wausau Committee of the Whole on Oct. 9 discussed asking voters to approve a levy referendum to fund 12 firefighters after federal grant funding ends, and considered hiring Miller Communications to run a public-education campaign if the council moves forward.

The prospect would fund 12 firefighter positions the fire department says are needed to maintain minimum response standards. "The idea was to just bring 12 firefighters to the referendum," a fire department chief said during the meeting, explaining the recommendation came from the department’s command staff as a simpler referendum question than the 15 positions listed on the posted agenda.

Why it matters: City staff and the fire department told council members that call volumes have roughly tripled over recent decades while staffing and station coverage declined, increasing reliance on mutual aid and creating operational strain. The chief said call volume is approaching 7,000 a year and that current minimum staffing for some structure-fire responses can only be met when ambulance units are not on other calls.

Finance and timing: Staff said levy limits and other constraints leave limited local…