WHITEWATER, Wis. (WFRV) – A police department in Wisconsin that has seen almost a 90% increase in service calls over the past 15 years direly needs additional officers.

The Whitewater Police Department said in a Facebook post that they haven’t seen an increase in police staffing for 17 years, resulting in the ‘critical need’ for more officers.

The post mentioned a referendum on the ballot for the April 1 election that asks voters if they will support an increase in Whitewater’s annual tax levy, which will add more public safety funding to meet the higher demands for service.

The Whitewater Fire Department has also seen an increase in service calls, with a 48% increase since 2022.

That same year, voters passed a referendum to meet a need for Fire and Emergency Medical Services needs; however, calls for service have increased since then and available staff has decreased, according to the Whitewater website.

Since 2012, the paid-on-call staff has decreased by 82% with overlapping service calls going up by 52% in this time frame.

The referendum set to appear on the ballot on April 1 reads this:

Under state law, the increase in the levy of the City of Whitewater for the tax to be imposed for the next fiscal year, 2026, is limited to 2.166% (based on the City’s best estimate), which results in a levy of $6,600,275. Shall the City of Whitewater be allowed to exceed this limit and increase the levy for the next fiscal year, 2026 for the purpose of funding increased staffing, and continuing to operate police and fire/EMS services, by a total of 18.29% (based on the City’s best estimate), which results in a levy of $7,906,057, and on an ongoing basis, include the increase of $1,305,782 for each fiscal year going forward?

City of Whitewater website

No additional details were provided.