WESTON, WI (WSAU-WAOW) The Village of Weston held its first informational meeting regarding the April 2026 referendum, which aims to fund six additional firefighters and paramedics for South Area Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER).
“All fire departments have maximum and minimum staffing levels, currently our maximum is nine, that is the most number of people we will have on per day and our minimum is seven,” said SAFER Fire Chief Josh Finke. “Our normal daily staffing is usually seven or eight people.”
The SAFER District, created in 2014 with stations in Weston and Rib Mountain, has seen a significant increase in call volumes while staffing levels have remained consistent, according to the Village of Weston.
“We run about 10 to 11 calls a day,” said Finke. “Each call takes about 60-90 minutes, so there is a large portion of the day where we have people out on calls when other people come in.”
The village estimates the cost of a new firefighter would exceed the allowable tax increase per year. As a result, the Village of Weston approved the referendum in a January Board of Trustees meeting. Village Administrator Jami Gebert explained the financial impact on residents.
“The village has explored a series of options with SAFER over the last several years in order to add staff,” said Gebert. “We had explored additional part-time staff and on-call or volunteer staff.”
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