Jefferson County in southern Wisconsin is pursuing options for sharing government resources among its municipalities, both to shore up expenses as budgets remain tight and take advantage of an evaporating labor pool for highly skilled workers.
Officials in Jefferson County are reviewing a case study published in February by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, an independent policy research organization, that recommends taking deeper dives into the efficacy of sharing services in fire and dispatch services.
Rob Henken, president of the Wisconsin Policy Forum, said communities are looking to share services primarily for two reasons — budget constraints that stem from property tax levy limits on local governments and fewer available state aid dollars, as well as human resource challenges.