Fire chief says Wisconsin levy rules strain emergency services

Sun Prairie Fire/EMS Chief Chris Garrison argues that Wisconsin's limits on municipal property tax levies make it difficult for communities to keep emergency services staffed as costs and call volumes rise.

Pressure on local staffing

Garrison says city and village levy growth is tied to new construction rather than to the full cost of public safety staffing. In his view, this leaves municipalities facing difficult trade-offs, especially as inflation and emergency calls increase.

He describes staffing shortages as a concern for both growing communities such as Sun Prairie and Fitchburg and smaller rural jurisdictions. The piece refers to his discussion of firefighter staffing at a February 2026 town hall.

Legislative advocacy

The Dane County Fire Chiefs Association is organizing a Legislative Advocacy Committee to brief candidates for public office on emergency service funding needs.

Five proposals

Garrison calls for revising the net new construction formula to account for inflation and call volume; excluding public safety from levy caps; allowing fire districts to operate as independent taxing entities; giving municipalities more local revenue options, including possible sales or income taxes; and excluding certain operational fees, such as fire inspection fees, from levy-limit offsets.

These are policy recommendations advanced in the original opinion piece, not changes already enacted into law.