Weston officials seek $600,000 referendum to add six firefighters amid staffing shortfalls

Jamie Gabbert, village administrator for Weston, and Chief Finke presented a proposal on the 2026 referendum that would add six full‑time firefighter positions and an ongoing $600,000 increment to the village’s operating levy to pay for them. Jessica Troutman, Weston’s finance director, said the estimated cost is roughly $104,000 per additional firefighter and the village cannot absorb the hires within the allowable levy increases without voter approval.

The referendum would permanently add about $600,000 to the levy base, Gabbert said, and would not itself increase annually. "It's the $600,000 that's added to the levy base, and it just continues going forward," Gabbert said. Troutman explained that limited net new construction revenue and an annual county‑level cap on levy growth leave little room for the village to fund the hires without a referendum.

Chief Finke told attendees the district has shifted from relying on part‑time or volunteer staff toward full‑time employees because part‑timers increasingly take full‑time jobs elsewhere for benefits and more predictable schedules. He said the district’s roster has fallen from the 60s to the low 40s while population in the area has grown, and that current shift minimums (seven) and maximums (nine) limit the number of ambulances and fire apparatus that can be staffed.

"We respond to approximately 10 calls a day," Chief Finke said. "We respond to close to 4,000 calls a year," and on many days multiple vehicles are out of service simultaneously. He described operational consequences when staffing drops: ambulances are de‑staffed, rescue trucks or fire apparatus must fill in for medical care or provide lifting help, and mutual‑aid partners are not always available. Finke said that in 2025 there were 324 calls that took more than 10 minutes to reach and 24 calls that took more than 15 minutes.

Finke cited national standards in framing the staffing gap, saying NFPA 1710 recommends a higher number of personnel for residential and commercial structure fires; even in an ideal response the district falls short of that recommended threshold. He also described a recent ISO evaluation that reduced a water‑haul credit, a change that has raised homeowners’ insurance costs for some rural residents in the district.

Officials offered concrete cost drivers that inform the referendum request. Troutman said the village budgets roughly $430,000 a year for employee health insurance and that the plan costs have risen about 85% since 2015. Chief Finke added that EMS supplies approach $100,000 annually and that at least one specialized vendor enforces an annual minimum price increase of 6 percent, limiting the district’s ability to reduce supply costs.

To illustrate operational risk, Finke described several recent incidents in which overlapping calls left no local apparatus available. He recounted a night when multiple ambulances were committed elsewhere, a structure fire in Rib Mountain took more than 20 minutes for an engine to arrive, and "that three‑quarter‑million‑dollar house unfortunately burned to the ground." He also described a basement fire that initially had only three responders and an event involving a child’s anaphylaxis where an engine crew provided initial care because ambulances were all busy.

Troutman displayed a slide estimating the tax impact by assessed value if the referendum passes and showed the precise ballot question wording, noting the referendum is structured according to statute. Gabbert said copies of the wording and the slides would be posted on the village referendum page and staff would be available after the presentation to answer individual questions.

No formal vote or council action occurred at the session; the public presentation was informational and the presenters opened the floor for audience questions at the end. Village staff invited residents to review the materials online or speak with the chief and finance staff for more details.