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Verona council declines to fund multi‑municipal fire/EMS feasibility study after split vote
Summary
After a two‑hour discussion, the Verona Common Council voted 4–4 and the mayor broke the tie, voting no, to a motion to pay $19,425 to join a McMahon & Associates feasibility and implementation study of a regional fire/EMS district. Supporters said the study would create a common data baseline; skeptics questioned whether consultants would add new information.
Verona — The Verona Common Council narrowly rejected a proposal on April 27 to join a multi‑municipal fire and emergency medical services (EMS) feasibility and implementation study after a lengthy debate over costs, governance and local control.
The study, led by McMahon & Associates and already under way for neighboring municipalities, would have cost Verona $19,425 to join. Proponents said participation would give Verona its own set of operational projections and strengthen the city’s bargaining position in any future regional discussions. Opponents argued the study would largely aggregate information the city already has and would not resolve the political choices Verona ultimately must make.
"There is value in asking questions," said Alder Littel, who moved that Verona participate, noting the study scope includes 5‑, 10‑ and 20‑year benchmarks and operational cost comparisons. "Paying for our own seat at the table and getting data that we can test and challenge improves our position," Littel said.
James Small, an EMS systems specialist introduced to the council by the mayor, urged careful planning if Verona considers consolidation, saying municipalities must ask how governance, cost‑sharing and auditing would work and warning that consolidation rarely produces day‑one savings. "You have to design for transparency and the business side — who is watching the dollars every day," Small said.
Pete Friedrichs, secretary‑treasurer of Firefighters Local 311, told the council the union has generally been supportive of coordinated studies and that when unions are invited to the table early, concerns about pay, staffing and safety are more likely to be addressed. "We were invited to have a seat at the table early," Friedrichs said.
Skeptics on the council questioned the practical deliverables of the consultant engagement, the potential for the study to reflect constraints not applicable to Verona and whether the city could generate the same core fiscal comparisons from its own staff.
After extended discussion and multiple motions, the council vote was tied 4–4. The mayor broke the tie by voting no, and the motion failed.
What happened next: With the motion defeated, Verona will not pay to join the McMahon & Associates study at this time. Council members who opposed the study said they still want to stay informed about regional discussions and may revisit the issue as neighboring municipalities proceed on their own schedules.
The council’s debate highlighted two central tensions for Verona policymakers: the technical value of consultant studies that aggregate cross‑jurisdictional data, and the political choices about how much control to cede or preserve in any joint governance structure. No formal changes to service delivery were enacted; staff said that participation in the study, if approved in the future, would come from the fire department fund balance and would not change service levels immediately.
