The Milton Joint Fire Commission will begin negotiations with the City of Janesville to merge the municipalities’ fire departments.
The board voted Wednesday night to authorize fire chief Ernie Rhodes to work out details with Mark Freitag and other Janesville city leaders for a potential contract.
The fire commission debated whether to move forward with the full consolidation, but they acknowledged they can’t know all of the details about what the merger would look like until they see the potential contract with Janesville.
The move would allow the two fire departments to share resources and services, cutting down on redundant costs as Milton works towards its goal of funding a full-time department.
The commission also tabled discussions on building a new fire station, and they will wait until at least November of 2021 before moving forward with a referendum.
