Finance committee debates funding for three firefighter‑paramedic positions; motion fails

The Wisconsin Rapids Finance and Property Committee spent the bulk of its meeting debating a referral to fund three firefighter‑paramedic positions tied to recently renegotiated regional EMS contracts. The requisition total cited by staff was $194,298 for the three positions, which proponents said would be paid from increased per‑capita contract payments rather than by a city property‑tax increase.

Fire Chief Goudreau said the city negotiated an EMS cooperative with neighboring jurisdictions and had raised per‑capita payments to create an “equitable distribution” of costs. “These positions would be funded through the EMS cooperative, so there’s going to be no increase in city property taxes,” Goudreau said. He argued the staffing additions were the last step to align staffing with the contract revenue and to preserve trust with partner municipalities.

Plouffe, who identified himself as chair of the HR committee, emphasized that past practice and chair discretion affect how referrals move between committees and said delaying action could shift burdens to citizens and partner communities. “That increase in extra per capita ... more than covers the cost of these three additional firefighter paramedic positions,” Plouffe said, adding that the contracts and per‑capita adjustments were negotiated to cover staffing costs.

The committee chair pressed a procedural objection: he said in his experience the council does not approve funding for positions until HR reviews and approves the positions, and that the item should follow that sequence. The chair also noted that while per‑capita revenue was projected at roughly $404,000 this year, department expenditures remain substantially larger; the transcript cites department expenditures estimated at about $2,500,000.

Alderman Tim moved a motion to approve funding for the fire department’s requisition to fill the three firefighter‑paramedic positions “pending approval from HR.” The chair declined to second the motion, saying he preferred to wait for HR’s action and full council consideration; without a second the motion failed. The chair and others confirmed HR will meet Monday at 5:00 p.m., and the common council is scheduled to consider the item at its meeting on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m.

The finance committee did not make a final funding decision; the referral will return after HR consideration and then go to the common council for final action.