RACINE — Racine residents voted Tuesday in favor of a $1.5 million annual property tax levy increase that will provide funding to the Racine Fire Department.
Starting with December 2025 bills, property taxes will increase by $31 per $100,000 of assessed home value each year.
The levy will provide the department with the necessary funds to maintain nine paramedic/EMT positions.
These positions are currently being paid for by a federal grant that expires in spring 2026.
“We are eternally and deeply grateful for the outpouring of community support to maintain an extremely high level of medical services to the citizens of Racine,” Racine Fire Chief Steve Hansen said.
In a Facebook post, Racine Professional Firefighters Local 321 wrote that the community’s backing demonstrates its “commitment to safety and the well-being of all residents.”
According to the City of Racine, RFD has operated with 141 full-time staff members for years. With staffing remaining the same, there were 12,514 calls for emergency services in 2024, which is a 50% increase since 2005.
Hansen said this funding will allow the department to maintain its current staffing model for paramedic ambulances.
“What many citizens do not realize is our paramedic ambulance crews also do firefighting on all structure fires,” he said.
The crews on these ambulances perform what the department calls primary search and rescue of anyone trapped in a fire, which Hansen said is an “exceptional benefit” because residents are “getting double duty” from the paramedics.
If the referendum had not passed, he said, the department would have had to downsize its paramedic crews, which would increase response times and decrease service levels.
“We would also (have) been placed in a position where we needed to send extra first responder crews to assist paramedic crews on medical emergencies,” he said. “Sending first responders takes staffing away from the next medical or fire emergency that occurs.”
With the referendum passing, Hansen said the department will be able to continue providing “an exceptionally high level of service” for fire and medical emergencies.
“Both firefighting and medical emergencies require a physical presence of firefighters and paramedics,” Hansen said. “Unfortunately we cannot throw a computer at a fire or medical emergency and hope it takes care of the issue.”
For Hansen, bringing the highest medical care available to patients, quickly starting treatment and transporting them to an emergency room is the department’s standard.
“We give all our citizens an exceptional fighting chance of survival by having our highly skilled paramedics on scene,” he said.<