Village President of Holmen discusses public safety referendum
HOLMEN, Wis. (WKBT) — Over a century of speaking out.
The League of Wisconsin Municipalities is meeting this week for its 124th annual conference.
This year, government officials will discuss how to fix the funding of local governments.
Leaders from across the state were in attendance.
The Village President of Holmen Patrick Barlow spoke up.
He says the rapid growth of Holmen–2500 people since 2011–is putting stress on funds and public safety officials.
He hopes the problem can be solved during the midterm election through a referendum.
“Our community is one of many this fall that is reaching out through public safety referenda to use this as a pathway in order to meet our critical needs and we definitely need help from our partners in state and local government,” said Barlow.
The referendum question will ask Holmen voters whether they support increasing the village levy by nearly $1.3 million in order to invest in hiring more police, firefighters, and EMTs.
According to the Village of Holmen’s website, Onalaska’s plan to leave the fire district will put even larger stress on public safety in Holmen.
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