The Beaver Dam Common Council tabled a vote on a possible fire department referendum for two more weeks after council members wanted time for more public input.
Fire Chief Alan Mannel is seeking a referendum question on the November ballot to fund six new firefighter/paramedic positions for the city — to go from 18 full-time staff to 24. There are 23 paid on-call personnel as well. The council has to approve forwarding the resolution question to the county by Aug. 25 to make the ballot.
If the resolution were on the ballot, voters would be asked to approve a property tax increase of 44 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, which would be a $66 increase on a $150,000 house.
In 2021, the cost would be $487,000 plus a one-time loss of $330,000 in state aid under the “expenditure restraint” program.