Marshall board hears proposal to make firefighter/emergency-management post a shared village position

Fire Lieutenant and Inspector Caden Baumann presented the board on July 9 with a proposed staffing change to create a full Village position (shared cost with the Towns of Medina and York) that would include benefits and a formal Emergency Management Director role.

Baumann said the current position was housed in the Marshall Fire Department and ineligible for insurance or Wisconsin Retirement System benefits; he told the board that his predecessor left over lack of benefits. Baumann said converting the post to a Village position would spread costs among the Village and the towns and estimated the total package at about $80,000, noting he would decline insurance and that the change could actually save about $1,000 annually in his specific case.

Baumann framed the role as important for proactive emergency management and said he had encountered resistance from the Town of Medina, saying he felt Medina was "resistant to this proposal" and had treated his position disrespectfully. Fire Chief Blaire Pierce supported a proactive Emergency Management Director, criticizing the previous approach as a "stand back and let it happen" style. Police Chief John Nault said he had been informed by ordinance that the police chief would fill Emergency Management Director duties when he was hired, and while he lacks prior experience in that role he was not opposed to relinquishing it. Administrator Brandon Bledsoe said he views emergency management as a team operation rather than the responsibility of a single individual.

Baumann emphasized this agenda item was informational for the Village Board and that the Fire District meeting on July 30 will ultimately determine the position; the Village Board expressed endorsement but took no formal action at the July 9 meeting.