Town of River Falls: Fire department issues discussed

Talk about it

At last week’s Town Board meeting, Chairwoman Diana Smith gave an update on the special joint meeting that was held on Aug. 27 to discuss the Rural Fire Association (RFA) plans for hiring a new fire chief and other related issues. Board members from five surrounding communities were in attendance.

Negotiations have been taking place between the RFA, the towns and the River Falls City Council.

Several factors are being considered to determine each town’s cost for services and funding of the fire chief’s salary: the number of fire calls per community, the number of residents, the number of parcels and the equalized value of the towns.

Asking to speak as a concerned citizen, Building Inspector Jerome Rodewald said he feels the fairest way to determine costs should be by looking at where the services are being used the most. He feels that basing the decision on equalized value is unfair because it costs the same for services whether the home is expensive or not.

Supervisor Brad Mogen agreed with Rodewald, saying that the RFA should be looking at the history of fire calls to determine costs per town.

Read more in the Sept. 17 print edition of the River Falls Journal

Pat Huber can be reached at Phuber0722@gmail.com

Tags: river falls township, rural fire association, communities