PEWAUKEE, Wis. — A new fee for fire and EMS service in the village of Pewaukee is worrying seniors on fixed incomes.
The fee is an annual cost that's getting tacked on to every property in the area.
Senior facilities or care centers (or places that serve people 55 and older) are paying nearly five times as much as other homeowners.
It's a price that senior residents say will drastically burden people in their community.
Richard Petersohn has lived in Pewaukee for 40 years and moved to the Hawthorne Place retirement community three years ago. He says making seniors on a fixed income pay more for the village's new fire and EMS fee isn't adding up.
“There are residents that I know of, they can't afford this,” said Petersohn. “They’re concerned not only about their health issues, they’re concerned about their food.”
The fee adds Emergency Service Equivalences (ESE) to every property in the village.
One ESE equals an annual cost of $240 per unit for fire and EMS.
Senior living and care homes must pay 4.75 ESEs, or nearly $1,200 per unit.
Many in Petersohn's community including his property owner, Mike Heise, say they knew nothing about the fee until it was already in place.
“We had no time to prepare for it, we didn't budget for it, we were blindsided,” said Heise.
Heise and his wife Nancy say the EMS fee doubled their property's annual taxes.
“We went in and they went ‘nope that’s not a mistake, we passed that last month and you should have known about it.’”
At least one listening session was held by the village for residents to discuss the ordinance, and fliers about the new fee were mailed to village residents in November. A week later the ordinance was passed before it was implemented in December.
Petersohn and the Heises joined dozens of neighbors at Tuesday night's village board meeting to speak out against the discrepancies in costs.
“We’re paying so much more than people with differing health issues living in their own home,” said Mary Lamb. “And they might have the same needs as we do but they're not paying that extra amount of money.”
“There are people here that might have to move. Where are they going to go?” asked Penny Olson.
Many emphasize that their fixed incomes will make the added cost unlivable to many who need the services most.
“They paid their taxes, they paid their dues. They worked all their lives, and this is how they're going to be treated?” asked Laura Hutchins. “That’s not right.”
TMJ4 reached out to the Village Board President for comment on the fee but did not hear back.
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