Tuesday, October 20, 2015

How long would you take to save money?

If you could get a superior level of a critical service for less money, how long would it take you to switch to this service?
1) 1 week
2) 2 years
3) 20 years and counting

I don't want to answer for you, but the answer for governmental departments and towns is 20 years and counting. 

Here's an example from Milwaukee County in Wisconsin. 20 years ago 7 separate communities consolidated their 7 separate fire and EMS departments into 1 regional department that is offering a far better level of service than if they had stayed separate.  A regional approach allowed the single fire district to reduce financial expenditures annually and ease the need for tax increases the past 20 years. Below is a chart of how  creating a singe district reduced the number of stations, equipment and staff needed while providing a higher quality of service. 

                    7 districts  |  1 district 
Fire Stations        7                  5

Fire Trucks          31               15

Staff                    60               53

Regionalization has delivered on its promise.  Read their recent 20 year report 'Come Together:  An analysis of fire department consolidation in Milwaukee County's North Shore'

The report wonders why, in the last 20 years, there hasn't been any TALK about consolidating another fire district, police department, or school district in Wisconsin. 

Are you willing to look at getting better services for less cost?


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