Opportunity to Improve Emergency Services with Additional Fire & Rescue Staff, Additional Sheriff’s Deputy Dedicated to Somers
The Village of Somers released an Options Assessment report identifying a need to increase public safety staffing to address increasing demand for emergency medical services and a growing need for proactive policing to support a safe and healthy Village. The report also outlines potential funding options for the Village to address these needs.
The report analyzes current service demands as well as staffing levels for law enforcement and fire & rescue services in Somers. In particular, it highlights the strain that Fire Department staff face due to a steady increase in the number of calls for service.
“From 2017 to 2024, we have seen a nearly 320 percent increase in calls for service with a record-high 1,662 calls last year,” said Ben Andersen, Fire Chief, Somers Fire & Rescue Department.
With only a handful of full-time personnel on staff each day, many Fire & Rescue staff are required to travel from their homes or full-time workplaces to the station when a call comes in to help man vehicles before heading to an emergency site, which increases response times and hinders public safety outcomes.
“Over two-thirds of our calls for service in 2024 were medical in nature,” said Chief Andersen. “With our current, relatively low full-time staffing levels, we are only able to send out two ambulances at once. As the need for emergency medical services continues to rise, Somers Fire & Rescue needs to be able to send all three of our ambulances out at once.”
In addition to enabling three ambulances to be in use at any given time, increased full-time staffing at the Firefighter/Paramedic level will increase the quality of emergency medical services available to patients in Somers. Currently, the Department is only certified at an Intermediate level. When services are provided by an EMT or AEMT, they cannot provide the same medicines and advanced medical procedures that paramedics can provide.
Despite Somers being an attractive community where aspiring Firefighter/Paramedics want to train and work, there are not enough positions available to hire the recruits as full-time staff once trained.
“Those of us at the Somers Fire & Rescue Department pride ourselves on providing the highest quality of service,” said Chief Andersen. “We consistently attract an incredible pool of talent, however, with limited full-time positions available, our staff turnover is high. At least 58 individuals have left Somers since 2017 for stable, family-supporting, full-time careers at departments in other communities.”
The report also outlines opportunities to improve public safety by bolstering law enforcement presence in the Village. As road construction has been undertaken in the Village – including the expansion of Highway S (Burlington Road) into a four-lane highway – concerns about traffic violations and traffic accidents have grown. In 2024, deputies responded to 10,018 calls for service. Deputies also issued 2,520 citations in 2024 for various ordinance and traffic violations – including 562 citations related to revoked or suspended licenses and 420 citations for speeding.
To improve public safety by enabling the deployment of all three ambulances at once, guaranteeing paramedic-level service and increasing law enforcement capacity for proactive policing to focus on traffic issues, the Village of Somers, in partnership with the Somers Fire & Rescue Department and Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, has recommended the following additions to public safety staffing:
- Funding eight full-time Firefighter/Paramedic positions
- Funding one additional Sheriff’s deputy assigned to Somers
The Options Assessment report was presented at the September 16 Village Board meeting.
In the coming weeks, Somers residents will receive a survey designed to help Village leaders determine the best path forward.
“The Village of Somers recognizes the importance of providing high-quality emergency services to residents,” said Chief Andersen. “Future discussions will center on the community’s preferences about how to approach these services and secure the funding necessary to support those preferences.”
Next Steps
The Village is taking a phased approach to explore funding solutions and engage the community.
- Phase I: Assess funding options, including a potential referendum
- Phase II: Survey and community dialogue. In the fall, Somers residents will receive a survey designed to help municipal leaders determine the best path forward.
Phase III: If a referendum is determined to be the best path forward, the Village will provide public education about the referendum and its potential impacts on services and costs.
Additional Information
For more information you can call or email:
Somers Fire Chief, Ben Andersen at:
bandersen@somerswi.gov
262-859-2277
Village Administrator, Jim Hurley:
jhurley@somerswi.gov
262-859-2822
