Public Safety Referendum Question Still a Possibility Next November

The Fond du Lac City Council will continue to look at the
possibility of adding a public safety referendum question to the ballot next
November. Both the City of Fond du Lac Police Department and Fond du Lac Fire
and Rescue have seen an increase in calls for service over the last several
years. The increase in calls has come as the city’s population has grown, but
staffing levels have remained largely the same.

City Manager Joe Moore says the plan is to bring to the
City Council data and recommendations from the police and fire chiefs on how to
go about adding new staff to each department. Moore explains it will then be up
to the council to figure out just how to get that accomplished. “Big dollars
are not available in a city budget because of levy limits – which is fine,”
Moore said. “But when you think you need to add a number of people, there you
run into some challenges – so we need to talk about how you might press through
that.”

The possible referendum would ask voters to approve
exceeding levy limits to add new public safety staff members. It’s expected the
amount requested would be $1 million dollars.