Village of Nashotah - The elected chief executives of three communities said Tuesday night that they were confident they could agree on a formula for funding a consolidated Lake Country Fire Department.

"I think we can find a formula that we can agree on," said Chenequa Village President Bryce Styza.

"I agree," added Nashotah Village President Richard Lartz.

Delafield Mayor Ed McAleer concurred with his two colleagues that a nine member committee studying consolidation may be able to agree on how to share the cost of the consolidated department, an issue that some local officials believed was the committee's biggest obstacle.

The City of Delafield, the Village of Chenequa and the Village of Nashotah are each represented by three members on the committee including the elected chief executives.

The committee was appointed by the three communities to determine if it is feasible to merge the City of Delafield Fire Department with the Lake Country Department which serves Chenequa and Nashotah.

Various cost calculations reviewed by the committee during a more than hour two meeting Tuesday night indicated that a consolidated department could save or increase each communities' fire department budget by similar amounts, depending upon which formula was used to calculate the cost.

"We could have sat here tonight and saw formulas that were way out of balance for one community or another and we would have had to throw up our hands and said this isn't going to work. But, that is not what happened," added Lartz.

The committee scheduled another meeting for next month to continue reviewing funding alternatives as well address other issues that need to be resolved if the department is going to be consolidated.

Negotiations to merge the City of Delafield Fire Department into the Lake Country Fire Department, which now serves the villages of Nashotah and Chenequa, are expected to begin this summer.

Village presidents Richard Lartz of Nashotah and Bryce Styza of Chenequa said they will propose the formation of an exploratory committee to their respective villages trustees during meetings scheduled for next week.

Delafield Mayor-elect Ed McAleer said he will discuss the formation of the committee to study the feasibility of the consolidation with the Delafield Common Council at its April 21 meeting.

McAleer said he expects that Lartz and Styza will make a joint appearance at the Delafield Common Council on May 5 to discuss the organizational structure of the Lake Country Fire Department which was created six years ago by merging the Chenequa and Nashotah village fire departments.

The three elected chief executives agreed to form the exploratory committee after an hour of private discussions earlier this week at the Nashotah Village Hall.

The community leaders said that in order for the consolidation to become a reality they must find a formula that enables the three communities to equitably share the cost of operating the department.