WALKER, Mich. — Funding for the Walker Fire Department and Walker Police Department will be voted on this fall.
A proposal from the city seeks to create a public safety millage — 10 years, 1.75 mills — to fund staffing, training, and facility improvements needed to "reduce response times and provide more reliable emergency services citywide," per the city.
If approved, a Walker homeowner with a taxable value of $100,000 would likely pay around $175 a year to support the millage, which in its first year is expected to generate around $3 million.
According to Walker Mayor Gary Carey, the millage is the first proposed by the city in its history.
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"We make do with what we have," said Walker Mayor Gary Carey, calling it the "Walker mentality."
"But when we need something, our community has always been very responsive," he said. "This is one of these times that we're really saying, 'Hey, we really need your support. We would not be doing this if we did not need it.'"
As the city has grown in population, its fire and police departments say they've seen an increase in demand.
Around a year ago, the former shifted to an around-the-clock operation. It says its three stations aren't built for full-time firefighters whose 48-hour shifts necessarily include sleeping, eating, and other daily life activities.
"There's been some trials and tribulations," said firefighter/EMT Kyle Gilley, who works at Walker Fire Station 3. "Our living facility is not conducive to what we're trying to do to be ready for our city."
The living facility of which Gilley speaks includes a kitchen area, a men's and women's bathroom, a home gym, and a series of cubicles that contain small beds shared between firefighters, depending on their shift.
The beds are also located in the basement of the station. So, if firefighters are called to an emergency while asleep, they have to walk up a flight of stairs to get to their gear and engines, a "big distance" that slows the department's response time compared to others in the area, according to Gilley.
"Two minutes doesn't sound like a lot, but when your house is on fire, or there's a medical response that needs immediate attention, those two minutes could make or break the whole ordeal," he said.
Rachel Tromp, another firefighter/EMT at Walker Station 3, says improvements at the city's fire stations would also be beneficial for firefighter safety and privacy.
As the city's only full-time female firefighter, Tromp uses the bathroom and showers separately from her male coworkers. At a station whose sole locker room has one shower and four lockers shared by nine full-time firefighters, "that's hard to coordinate," Tromp said. "A little awkward."
In addition, increased shower space would allow firefighters to sooner scrub carcinogens from their bodies, and improvements in how the department washes and dries its gear could also provide a similar health benefit.
"We want to be that place of work where people want to come in," Gilley said. "We're all dedicated to our city, we want to keep contributing to our city."
"We want to try to build a facility that people are proud to come into, makes it easier to work and respond to our community."
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The Walker Police Department, too, would benefit from the millage, according to the city.
A total of 43 full-time officers currently work at its police station, nearly double the amount from when it was first built.
"We've far exceeded our offices," Walker Police and Fire Chief Keith Mankel said. "We've got people in closets."
"The millage would help not only make it more comfortable for us, but it would also help create more functionality for us to respond in a timely manner and provide better service," he said.
A series of open houses will allow voters in Walker to learn more about how the public safety millage, if passed, would be used to fund improvement at the city's fire and police departments.
Open Houses
City of Walker Public Safety Millage
- Tuesday, Sept. 29
- 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
- Fire Station #3, 1470 Three Mile Road NW
- Tuesday, Oct. 6
- 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
- Fire Station #1, 4343 Remembrance Road NW
- Thursday, Oct. 15
- 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
- Fire Station #2, 4101 Lake Michigan Drive NW
