The City of Whitewater’s Common Council voted to add a public safety referendum question on the upcoming April 1, 2025 ballot. Voters will be asked whether or not to support an increase in the annual tax raise to fund additional police offices, cross-trained firefighters and EMTs along with their equipment and a dispatcher.
The referendum comes as a response to Whitewater’s need for additional services. Since 2010, the Whitewater Police Department has seen an increase in calls by 90%. In 2024, they reported there to be over 14,000 calls.
“The need to increase police and fire staffing in Whitewater is not new — it has persisted for years and has now reached a critical point,” said Whitewater Police Chief Dan Meyer in a press release. “Current stang levels are too low to enable police officers to balance proactive and reactive duties. It is essential that we secure additional funding to hire the staff necessary to meet our community’s service needs. Effective public safety services are vital, and we remain committed to delivering quality services to Whitewater residents.”
The Whitewater Fire Department has also seen an increase in calls with a decrease in staff. They have reported a 32% increase in calls since 2022.
“The safety of our community is our top priority, and the increase in calls for service paired with the decrease in available paid-on-call sta has created significant challenges for the Whitewater Fire Department,” Whitewater Fire Chief Kelly Freeman said in a press release. “Since the city passed a referendum to meet acute Fire/EMS needs in 2022, calls for service have continued to grow and the number of available paid-on-call sta has further decreased. While we are in a better spot today than we were before the referendum, we need additional resources to meet the current and prospective needs of the community.”
The tax raise would be approximately $1.3 million beginning in the 2025 bills.
The referendum will appear on the Tuesday, April 1, 2025 ballot. It will state:
Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of Whitewater for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2026, is limited to 2.166% (based on the City’s best estimate), which results in a levy of $6,600,275. Shall the City of Whitewater be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2026 for the purpose of funding increased stang, and continuing to operate police and re/EMS services, by a total of 18.29% (based on the City’s best estimate), which results in a levy of $7,906,057, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,305,782 for each fiscal year going forward?
The City of Whitewater will share more information about the referendum online, through direct mail and by holding public information sessions ahead of the April election. More information will be available on the city’s website in the coming weeks.
