Referendum 2022
Town of Holland Fire/EMS Protection Referendum
On November 8, 2022, a General Election will be held and will include a referendum question requesting a levy increase for the purpose of meeting increased demand for fire/emergency medical services.
More full-time staffing in the Holmen Area Fire Department (HAFD) is needed to adequately respond to the increased demand for fire/emergency medical services (EMS). The Town of Holland currently pays for these services through our tax levy.
Since 2006, the State of Wisconsin has imposed tax levy limits on the municipalities of the State, limiting the annual amount of increase in the tax levy to only net new construction. That equates to an average increase of 2.7% or $9,300 a year over the past 20 years. This negligible increase does not keep pace with the Town’s growth or need for fire/EMS protection services. The Town has increased the amount spent on fire services by 233% over the last 20 years to try to keep pace with demand.
The law does, however, permit the municipality to exceed the state limits if is approved by referendum by the residents in an election. The Town of Holland Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution on August 26, 2022, authorizing the town to exceed the state levy limit. The increase will support the Town of Holland’s share of the cost of hiring full-time firefighters/EMTs. We now seek residents’ approval of this increase on the November 8th ballot.
A “yes” vote on the referendum question would support the Town’s tax levy increase directly for the purpose of maintaining and continuing to improve services and increasing staffing. The tax impact is an approximate increase of $135 per $100,000 of property value.
A “no” vote on the referendum question would result in not being able to meet the current budget and would require cutting services and personnel.
The Town of Onalaska’s recent decision to leave the HAFD at the end of 2022 has made the need for the referendum to pass even more urgent.
Link to Q&A
Link to Fire Call statistics
Link to Population statistics
Link to Information flyer (to be mailed first week of October)
Link to powerpoint