By Kelly Smith
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
LAKE COUNTY, Wis. — Local officials are scrambling to unravel an unanticipated bureaucratic snag that potentially could jeopardize the newly created Lake County Fire and Rescue, which is supposed to begin operations on Jan. 1.
Administrators of the state’s employee trust fund have ruled that the 10 full-time and 12 part-time employees now working for the City of Delafield Fire Department — and receiving benefits — will not be eligible to continue federal Social Security and state retirement benefits when they are transferred to the new department.
Many local government employees receive health and retirement benefits from a state-administered program.
The trust fund administrators say the employees are not eligible for the retirement benefits because Lake County Fire and Rescue does not fit the state and federal definition of an independent political subdivision of the state since it does not have the power to levy taxes or borrow money and does not own all of its equipment and property.
The 22 firefighters, along with Fire Chief Jack Edwards and an administrative assistant, are scheduled to begin working for Lake Country Fire and Rescue as part of a consolidation agreement that merged the City of Delafield Fire Department and the Lake Country Fire Department, which serves the Villages of Chenequa and Nashotah.
City of Delafield officials are contemplating leasing the services of the chief and the firefighters to Lake Country Fire and Rescue so it can begin operations on schedule. The Lake Country Fire Department is scheduled to cease operations Dec. 31.
The Lake Country Fire and Rescue Board would pay a contractual fee to the city equivalent to the cost of the salaries and benefits of the firefighters, according to City Administrator Tim Schuenke.
Hector De La Mora, attorney for the Lake Country Fire and Rescue Board, is drafting an agreement expected to be adopted by the board and the three municipalities before Dec. 31.
De la Mora emphasized that “regardless of the legal strategies,” there will be professional fire protection available to the three communities Jan. 1.
The state’s decision surprised — and angered — city officials and members of the Fire Board, who have been working for months to transfer personnel and equipment from the city department to the newly consolidated department.
“It just dropped out of the sky,” said De la Mora.
“It is just kind of aggravating. It is absurd. I cannot understand why you have a state agency that is making a decision that is contrary to the intent of the state Legislature to encourage local municipalities to work together in intermunicipal agreements,” added Schuenke.
Rod Stotts, president of the Lake Country Fire Board, said he was “flabbergasted” by the decision because there are so many other special units of government, including the North Shore Fire Department, which serves seven Milwaukee area municipalities, whose employees are receiving state retirement and health insurance benefits.
“For some reasons, there has been a different set of standards applied to us,” Stotts said.
Municipal law expert John Macy said he was stunned by the decision. Macy said he has been involved with at least a dozen multimunicipal special units of government and never had an issue with the state regarding retirement and health benefits for the full-time employees.
Smith said the trust fund officials did not intend to dismantle efforts by the local communities to consolidate into a single fire department but were following federal Social Security guidelines for the definition of independent political subdivision.
Local officials said they might ask federal and state lawmakers to either persuade the agency to reverse the decision or seek legislation that would overturn it.
Copyright 2009 Journal Sentinel Inc.