Council reviews Monroe Fire Department strategic plan; administration to prioritize recommendations

The Common Council held a Council of the Whole follow-up on the Monroe Fire Department strategic plan and heard a recap from John of Mission CIT and comments from the fire leadership. The presentation emphasized that Monroe has a strong, committed fire force while noting long-term recruitment and retention challenges and the value of mutual aid arrangements.

"You do have a very, very good fire department," John said, commending staff and volunteers and framing the plan’s staffing recommendations as benchmarks rather than immediate mandates. He described the national "15-person" benchmark as a target to inform planning, and he explained how mutual aid and apps such as "I Am Responding" can help visualize who is responding and estimate arrival times.

Council members pressed on operational details: whether Station 1 could be used for overnight staffing, whether pickup trucks could handle nonemergency "lift assist" calls instead of engines, and how response times are measured. Chief Rufe and other department leaders explained tradeoffs: pickups are staged at Station 2, using pickups from Station 1 could lengthen travel time for some calls, and engines carry equipment that crews often need on scene.

The council also discussed a three-part approach some Wisconsin communities use to reduce lift-assist calls — community training, hands-on practice, and a fee schedule for repeat callers — and heard concerns about equity and the appropriateness of billing residents who may be elderly or in hospice care. "There are pros and cons to that like anything else," the chief said, noting that many repeat callers have significant health needs and that billing could raise moral and administrative questions.

Administrator Rindy said staff will combine council feedback with the study recommendations and present a prioritized, implementable plan to appropriate committees, with the Public Safety Committee likely taking a leading role. Council members asked that the full council remain involved in significant policy or budgetary decisions that arise from the implementation work.

The meeting record shows no formal votes on policy changes during this session; the council endorsed moving forward with the staff-driven planning and committee review process.