NSFD faces less county funding for paramedics than planned

Glendale - The Milwaukee County Board's adoption of a 2012 budget that includes $1.5 million of paramedic funding for county fire departments will likely impact the North Shore Fire Department's 2012 budget, although exactly how is still not know. The 2012 county budget increases the tax levy, a move that could bring vetoes from County Executive Chris Abele.

As adopted, the 2012 county budget provides $150,000 of the $362,000 the NSFD had anticipated receiving in its 2012 budget. The NSFD budget was based on the continuation of the $3 million county subsidy received in past county budgets.

Fire Chief Robert Whitaker told the NSFD Board of Directors Tuesday morning that the budget now goes to Abele for his approval.

"He could veto it all or parts of it," Whitaker said.

The county budget also changes the way money is distributed to the local departments, rather than having the Intergovernmental Cooperation Council agreement govern the distribution.

Glendale Mayor Jerry Tepper, a member of the Fire Board, said that he was pleased to see some of the $3 million restored by the County Board but questioned the new distribution plan. Under the ICC plan, NSFD would receive $180,000 rather than the $150,000.

"It was at the County Board's insistence that the ICC developed a plan for distribution," Tepper said, noting that Milwaukee was the biggest beneficiary of the plan and that the city agreed to it.

After the meeting, Whitaker said he has a plan to make budget adjustments if the department receives the $150,000.

"We don't want to do layoffs," he said. "If we get the $150,000, I don't think we will have to."

He said the adjustments would likely be in personnel or by deferring potential capital items. The amount paid by each of the seven member communities would not change. Each of the member communities are in the process of approving their own municipal budgets, each of which contains its individual cost for the department.

Abele is expected to act on the budget by the end of the week. It would then return to the County Board for any action on Abele's vetoes on Nov. 16.

The next NSFD Board of Directors meeting is Dec. 13. The board would address any necessary changes to the NSFD budget at that time.