The La Crosse Fire Department will assume administration of the Holmen Area Fire Department for a year under a resolution the La Crosse Common Council approved Thursday night.
Council members Mark Neumann and Doug Happel characterized the approval, at a cost of $14,583.33 a month to the Holmen district, as one of the most important actions the council took Thursday, if not stretching back further.
The resolution, which has been considered in one form or another for years and is similar to La Crosse pacts with other municipalities, is the result of the Holmen department’s request for the La Crosse department’s chief and subordinates “to serve as the Acting Chief and management and administration” for Holmen.
The measure also calls for negotiations leading to a long-term agreement to begin immediately.