Waunakee Fire Services
Protecting residents through fire safety services.
Fire Department
Waunakee is growing, and so are our public safety needs. The least we can do for the people who respond at two in the morning is give them clear leadership, honest planning, and a Village Board that follows through on its own word.
The Village of Waunakee must reach an agreement on the future of the Waunakee Area Fire Department before midnight on January 1, 2027:
A Citizen Fire Commission
On December 11th, 2024, the Waunakee Area Fire Department discussed the upcoming fire commission ordinance with the Fire District Board and received confirmation that we should proceed with our officer elections as usual, given the continued absence of a fire commission.
At the December 16th, 2024, Village Board meeting, the Village publicly committed to creating a citizen fire commission. That commitment was never followed through.
On January 13th, 2025, the Waunakee Area Fire Department held its regular election of officers. Our chief, Gary Hansen, retired after a long career with the department. Due to the lack of a fire commission and the absence of any clear timetable for its creation, the department followed its bylaws and elected a new chief.
At the January 27th, 2025, Waunakee Area Fire District meeting, the Village of Waunakee condemned this action by reading the following statement after Josh McWilliams was presented as the new Chief:
"The Village wants to make it clear that the following statement does not impact our collective and unanimous support for a continued volunteer fire department. The Village of Waunakee has been made aware at the Waunakee Volunteer Fire Department’s scheduled membership meeting on Monday, January 20th, that a vote occurred to elect a new fire chief of the Fire Department. In accordance with Wisconsin State Statute 61.65(2)(b)2, and Waunakee Village Code 30-54, which states that “[t]he fire chief shall be appointed by the Fire Commission pursuant to applicable Wisconsin Statutes, including, but not limited to, Wis. Stat. 61.65(2)(b) and (3g), as may be amended from time to time,” the Village of Waunakee therefore does not recognize the election of a new fire chief. With the retirement of the previous chief, the Village recognizes the next in command at the time of the retirement, on an interim basis, until a new chief is appointed in compliance with the aforementioned state and local laws."
That statement damaged trust with both firefighters and residents. My original letter to the editor in the Waunakee Tribune outlines those concerns in more detail.
I am now running for office again, and more than twelve months later, the Village still has not established a fire commission, which is unbelievably dangerous. Should a semi-truck drive through an accident scene on the side of the highway and kill multiple fire officers, per the Village of Waunakee's official stance, there is no legal way to replace them. This puts you and your family at risk.
As a trustee, I will push to finally create a citizen fire commission, appoint qualified members, and give them a clearly defined role as an independent citizen ethics board for hiring and conduct matters.
Westport, Vienna, and Springfield need to hear directly from firefighters that we welcome this change. This should be a bipartisan effort.
If we move forward with a joint fire district, the citizen commission should have proportional representation based on population and require a supermajority for significant decisions.
The commission should affirm the fire chief, and our fire district has reached the point where we need either a full-time chief or a second fire inspector.
I will recuse myself from appointing citizen members to this commission. It would be unethical for me to nominate individuals who would have authority over a department in which I serve.
If the Village says it will do something, it needs to keep its word.
Firefighters at the Table and Risk Mitigation
Waunakee has spent thousands of dollars on consultants and studies, then treated those reports as the only source of truth. I respect good data and outside expertise. I also know you cannot make informed decisions about a fire department without listening to the firefighters who respond to the calls. My priority is simple. Keep people safe first. Consultants should be a tool, not a substitute for local experience, and frontline knowledge must be part of every significant decision.
At the July 27th Village Board meeting, Village Trustee Chris Zellner said:
"I know that we have an outstanding board, but I don't know that any of us have any fire experience at all, and the people who have been running this forever need to be absolutely included and heavily involved at the table and in establishing this."
When deciding what to do with our fire trucks, it helps to include someone at the table who can actually drive one.
It is also essential to understand that if Waunakee withdraws from the fire district and forms a municipal fire department, the Village receives 71% of the Waunakee Area Fire District’s assets. However, the Fire District Board, not the Village, determines which assets make up that 71%. Given that much of the debate began over Waunakee’s lack of a voting majority on the Fire District Board, this is a significant oversight.
The current intergovernmental agreement between Waunakee, Westport, Springfield, and Vienna states:
4.02 Interest of Municipalities. Each Municipality shall have an interest in the net assets of the District in proportion to the total equalized value of the District when compared to the equalized value of such Municipality, determined on the basis of latest equalized value of such property.
5.02 Distribution to Withdrawing Municipality. Under Section 4.02 above, the withdrawing municipality shall be compensated on the basis of its ownership at the time of the withdraw.
The phrase "shall be compensated" is critical. The Fire District decides which assets count toward that 71%. This means Waunakee could lose its brand-new $900,000 squad truck if there is a municipal withdrawal. With apparatus manufacturers currently running three to four years out, this represents a significant operational risk. The U.S. Senate has held hearings on the current fire truck shortage, highlighting this concern.
It is also important to note that I personally called for an audit of the Fire District’s assets on February 17th, 2025. One year later, the Village still has not conducted a formal audit. The Board voted to initiate the withdrawal process without a clear plan or a complete understanding of the associated costs.
In July of 2025, the Village Board authorized spending up to $200,000 on consulting fees to pay McMahon & Associates to assist with planning, five months after the withdrawal process had already been initiated.
I promise to bring valuable insight into the fire service and mediation skills that serve the best interests of our taxpayers.
My number one interest is the safety of our residents.
Fair Costs Based on Service, Not Just Property Value
Our fire department is funded through the Waunakee Area Fire District. Each partner community pays into the district based almost entirely on equalized property value. That might look fair on a spreadsheet, but it does not reflect real emergency response. A large data center adds a very high amount of equalized value and almost no fire calls. A nursing home adds far less equalized value and generates frequent medical and fire responses. Both require training, staffing, and equipment. Only one pays proportionately under the current formula.
A modern cost structure must include call volume and risk level, not just property value. When cost sharing reflects actual service provided, each community contributes fairly. There is also another important benefit. A call volume component gives municipalities a financial reason to address problem properties and those that generate repeated false alarms or misuse the 911 system. This creates safer buildings, reduces preventable calls, and protects limited emergency resources.
As a trustee, I will work to reform the district cost share formula so it is fair, data driven, and focused on safety.
Repairing Relationships With Our Partners
Over the past year, I have worked directly with municipal leaders in Westport to repair relationships that were strained by rushed decisions at the Village Board level. Westport is a partner in our fire district, and that partnership only works when there is trust, honest communication, and clear expectations from everyone involved.
If elected, I will continue working to strengthen cooperation between Waunakee and the surrounding communities that share responsibility for the district. Residents expect professionalism and transparency from every partner at the table. Public safety should never be a political fight. It should always be a shared mission.
Conflicts of Interest
A volunteer fire fighter, emergency medical services practitioner, or emergency medical responder in a city, village, or town whose annual compensation from one or more of those positions, including fringe benefits, does not exceed $25,000 if the city, village, or town has a population of 5,000 or less, or $15,000 if the city, village, or town has a population of more than 5,000, may also hold an elective office in that city, village, or town. It is compatible with his or her office for an elected village or town officer to receive wages under s. 60.37 (4) or 61.327 for work that he or she performs for the village or town.