Town of Beloit officials advise ending fire service pact with South Beloit

BELOIT, Wis. (WTVO) — The Town of Beloit City Administrator, Tim Wellnitz, and Fire Chief, Daniel Pease, are recommending that its intergovernmental agreement for firefighting and emergency services with the City of South Beloit be terminated by October 1 or sooner.

The memorandum filed by the town explained that it has attempted to better staff the fire department and emergency services unit to accommodate the agreement, but to no avail.

The town applied for a grant that would have allowed it to hire 9 more firefighters, but it was not awarded the funding.

If the agreement is terminated, some of the town’s firefighters would be relocated to the Town of Beloit Fire District 2.

The City of South Beloit said it will continue to work with the town and the Illinois Fire Chiefs’ Association to address its staffing issue.

“The City intends to continue to work with the Town of Beloit during this period of transition while following the recommendations of the Illinois Fire Chiefs’ Association regarding staffing of the South Beloit Fire Department,” a release from South Beloit Mayor Tom Fitzgerald explained.

South Beloit’s City Council feels regionalization is paramount.

“The City of South Beloit City Council believed then, as it does now, that regionalization of area fire departments is necessary to ensure proper staffing throughout Northern Illinois. To that end, the City of South Beloit will be discussing next steps at upcoming City Council meetings regarding how staffing will be addressed in the future,” the mayor concluded.