Dean Richards, chief of the Delafield (Wis.) Fire Department, resigned after a referendum to borrow $4 million to build a new fire station failed. Richards's resignation is effective Dec. 31.
The fire department had hoped to build a new 14,800-square-foot facility to replace the existing 50-year-old Station No. 1. The proposed plan called for the current station to be demolished and the land — worth $300,000 — sold and returned to the tax rolls.
"The current Station No. 1 is a building that had previously code and safety violations," Richards said.
The cost of the new building was reported to be $4 million, however, Richards said that was not the actual price. "Our politicians required that we go forward with a whole dollar amount with building site improvement … but it's an artificial number," he said. "We feel we didn't get adequate support even though [politicians] were expressing that they were interested in getting the station passed."
Richards said the politicians in the town would not endorse the new fire station, citing fear of violating political rules. Instead, the members of the fire department donated money and time to educate the voters on the need for the new fire station.
"It is also apparent that a significant group of our 'customers,' motivated only by self-interest, will resort to misinformation, distortion of facts, and perhaps even lying to get their political will," Richards added.
Delafield has one of the lowest tax rates in the county, according to Richards — one-half to one-quarter of the rates of the surrounding communities. "The impact of the station would have been around $80 a year on a $400,000 home," he said. "I think that the push back from the voters was dollar-related."
Richards — who also is a real-estate attorney — said he has tried for the "past 10 years and five iterations" to get a new fire station to accommodate the necessary equipment for emergency response. Currently, the department stores its dive-rescue trailer and Zodiac raft in the town's highway-department garage because of the lack of space at the fire station.
While Richards had thought about retiring for the past couple years, he said the failure of this referendum and lack of support from the town officials was the last straw.
In an e-mail to his department members, Richards wrote, "My concern has been that I am fatigued and lacking in the full spirit and spark that you deserve in your chief. Ours is not an easy job and we perform it in a somewhat unfavorable political climate. You deserve a smile at every turn and constant positive force from your chief. I just can't give that anymore."
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