DATE: October 13, 2005
The regular meeting of the Sauk County Law Enforcement Committee was held on Thursday, October 13, 2005, at 9:30 A.M., in the:
Community Room
D102A
1300 Lange Court
Baraboo, Wisconsin.
The meeting was properly posted and all interested parties were notified.
Members Present: Carlson, Fordham, Tollaksen, Sinklair, Montgomery
Members Excused:
Members Absent:
Others Present: R. Stammen; B. Hinze; W. Schneider, Sauk County Humane Society; K. Schauf; M. Schauff; T. Clauer; T. Gruber; M. Hafemann; K. Fults; R. Meister; T. McCumber, Town of Merrimac Administrator; A. Kirby; B. Manning
Deputies Mitch Schauff and Thomas Clauer were co-recipients of the August Employee of the Month Award. Schauff and Clauer, who are jailors, spotted an automobile that had been reported as stolen from LaCrosse, Wisconsin, while they were returning from doing boat patrol for the Sheriff's Department. They alerted the Communication Center and eventually stopped the vehicle while awaiting the arrival of patrol deputies. A runaway female juvenile, who was operating the stolen auto, was safely taken into protective custody and the vehicle was returned to the owner. Both Chair Montgomery and Sheriff Stammen complimented the two deputies for their professional excellence.
Sauk County Animal Shelter Director Wendy Schneider reported there were 67 dogs taken in at the Shelter in September and 65 dogs adopted. Currently seven animals are being spayed at the UW Veterinary School in Madison. The spaying is being done at no cost to Sauk County as a part of training for veterinary students. There were 118 cats taken into the Shelter in September and 67 were adopted. The Humane Society handled 55 animals calls in the past month, of which five were bite cases.
Schneider reported she had attended rabies control training in Wisconsin Dells recently. She also said that a number of cases in the past month pointed to the need for a Humane Officer for Sauk County, among them neglect cases and reports of a puppy mill being operated in the Reedsburg area. Chief Deputy Prantner said that two Sauk County patrol deputies recently completed Humane Officer Training at UW Madison which will help with some of the calls for service.
After completion of training in Milwaukee there are now three staff members at the Shelter who are certified to perform animal euthanasia.
Chair Montgomery asked Acting Administrative Coordinator Kathy Schauf if she wanted to address the committee. Schauf said that she wasn't on the agenda and had actually spoken to the committee members at the Judiciary portion of the meeting. Schauf said she's trying to meet with the various oversight committees to address the many issues the county faces.
Motion by Fordham, seconded by Sinklair, to approve payment of the
Coroner's September bills in the amount of $1,4778.78.
Motion carried unanimously.
The Sheriff's bills were reviewed.
Motion by Fordham, seconded by Tollaksen, to approve payment of the
Sheriff's September, 2005, bills in the amount of $139,138.43.
Motion carried unanimously.
McCumber said a number of citizens drove the roads to determine if the speed limits should remain the same or be reduced. The Ordinance had a list of the roads that were studied and those roads showing a recommended speed limit of 35 or 45 MPH were roads on which the limits wouldn't be changed.
McCumber said Richard Grant, the Town Chairman, has been told that some people will challenge the speed limit changes if they're cited for a speeding violation once the limits are lowered but the Town is preparing to post the signs with the new speed limits. Fordham asked if the ordinance could withstand a challenge and the Sheriff and McCumber both stated that they believed it could. However, those persons who wish to challenge the citation will have recourse through the legal system. Once the new speed limits are posted public notice will be made to meet legal requirements for notification of the changes.
Motion by Sinklair to accept the TOWN OF MERRIMAC Resolution 01-05 entitled Resolution Granting Jurisdiction of the Sauk County Sheriff to Enforce Speed Limits within the Town of Merrimac STATE OF WISCONSIN, Town of Merrimac, Sauk County; and TOWN OF MERRIMAC Ordinance 01-05 entitled Ordinance to Post Speed Limit on Town Highways, STATE OF WISCONSIN, Town of Merrimac, Sauk County, both of which were adopted by the Merrimac Town Board on September 6th, 2005, and agreeing with the enforcement of the new speed limits once the speed limit signs are posted and public notice has been made. Motion seconded by Tollaksen and passed unanimously.
This resolution was approved by the Finance Committee at their October meetings and Sheriff Stammen said the Sauk County Chiefs of Police association unanimously supported acceptance of the gift. Sauk County has applied for grants in the past for crime scene trailers but hasn't been awarded one.
The Tavern League will pay for the trailer and give it to the Sheriff's Department which will maintain it and insure it. It will be available for use by any law enforcement agency in the county that needs a mobile crime scene processing center.
There was a discussion about getting the trailer to a crime scene and Captain Meister said there are currently three vehicles capable of pulling the trailer, the Expeditions assigned to the Sheriff and Detective Sergeant Welsch and the government surplus Chevrolet truck. Sinklair asked who would be absorbing the cost for the fuel to haul the trailer. The Sheriff said since the trailer would belong to the Sheriff's Department and since the Sheriff's Department would probably be assisting at any crime scene intensive enough to require an ongoing evidence processing center, he thought it would be appropriate for the Sheriff's Department to pay for the fuel needed to haul the trailer. Presently a crime scene investigation may require multiple trips back and forth because a lot of equipment is required at times and the squads don't have space to carry much in the way of evidence processing supplies.
Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Carlson, to approve the resolution Authorization to Accept a Crime Scene Trailer from the Sauk County Tavern League and to Amend the 2005 Sheriff's Department's Adopted Budget. and to take the resolution to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors at the October 18th, 2005, meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
In reply to a question as to how the grant monies actually compare to the cost of law enforcement on Ho-Chunk land, Captain Meister said the ratio is only a very small percentage but at least it is a partial reimbursement. The time the deputies spend patrolling and handling complaints on Ho-Chunk land is noted on their logs. The time spent handling complaints at the Casino isn't considered part of the grant law enforcement time.
Motion by Carlson, seconded by Tollaksen, to approve the resolution
Approving a Request to Apply for Aid to Law Enforcement With Wisconsin
Ho-Chunk Lands Within Sauk County and to take the resolution
to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors at the October 18th, 2005,
meeting.
Motion carried unanimously.
A discussion took place regarding the agenda items 10 through 14, all of which are resolutions pertaining to the staffing needed if A Pod were to open in 2006. Sinklair opined that under Robert's Rules of Order the resolutions couldn't be brought back before the committee since they weren't passed by the Law Enforcement & Judiciary Committee at the joint meeting held on October 10, 2005, and further that they would have to be rewritten in order to be brought back. The Executive and Legislative Committee, the Personnel Committee and the Finance Committee approved the resolutions. Of the four committee members present from the Law Enforcement and Judiciary Committee at the time the vote was taken there was a two/two split, causing the resolutions to fail.
Acting Administrative Coordinator Kathy Schauf stated she had gotten a legal opinion from Sauk County Corporation Counsel Todd Liebman. Liebman's opinion said in part, "The reconsideration provisions in the Rules of the Board were adopted to prevent the undoing of items by simple motion to reconsider and not to prevent the reconsideration of a resolution or some other formal action with appropriate notice. A resolution may come back again and again until it passes. Nothing in the Rules of the Board directly prohibit this, and thus, it is the inherent rights of the committees and the board to do so. This is supported by 4 McQuillen's Municipal Corporations s.13.48." Sinklair asked for a written copy of Liebman's opinion and Schauf said she would provide it.
Fordham stated she had not been at the joint meeting when the vote was taken but that there was no attempt on her part to manipulate the matter. She stated her position has consistently been that there must be no negative fiscal impact from the opening, Fordham also reiterated her support for the rehabilitation of Sauk County inmates, who would benefit from direct supervision which would be possible with the opening of A Pod.
Montgomery said he wanted the resolutions on the agenda, was in favor of a legal opinion being sought to bring the resolutions back and had requested that the agenda be amended to include the resolutions.
Tollaksen stated he had voted no on the resolutions initially because it was his belief that the fact that the other committees had passed all the resolutions insured that they would come before the full County Board for a vote. He believed that was where the ultimate decision should be made.
Sinklair said he was not in favor of the resolutions, he was not in favor of the amending the agenda and he was not convinced that the resolutions were legally being brought forth. He further questioned the language of the agenda in that the word "considered" was being used if the matter was a "renewal" of the discussion on the resolutions. Schauf called Corporation Counsel Liebman who stated that word "consider" was appropriate since it noticed the public that the issue would be voted upon.
Motion by Fordham, seconded by Carlson, that items 10 through 14 be approved, those items being:
Fordham, Carlson and Montgomery voted yes; Tollaksen
and Sinklair voted no.
Motion carried.
The housing and medical billing for September to Dane County was $54,436.55 and Rock County was billed $48,427.82, for a total of $102,864.30. This brings the year-to-date total to $881,420.22 for out-of-county housing revenues. The projected revenues for 2005 from housing inmates for other counties was $858,000.
There was nothing to report.
There was a double fatality accident in September, bringing the 2005 year-to-date total to 11 fatalities. This exceeds last year's totals.
Sheriff Stammen read the report for the highway safety grants for 2005.
The Alcohol Grant which was for $12,000 resulted in:
The two grants have made a difference in highway safety but the grant stipulations only allowed paid grant hours for patrolling Highway 12. Captain Meister pointed out that the fatal accidents have almost without exception occurred on other highways in the county.
There were 1,682 hours of overtime incurred in September; 1,445 were paid overtime and 237 hours were banked as compensatory time.
For supervisory overtime, there were 19.75 hours of overtime paid in lieu of ordering in a union employee after all eligible union employees declined to work the overtime; 421 hours for holiday worked; 17 for team callouts or training; and 24 hours for highway safety grants.
The range programs expanded into the abandoned buildings at the Landfill.
An employee was treated for heat exhaustion during the ERT call-out for the alleged armed suicidal man in the City of Baraboo.
The windshield on Sergeant Kirby's squad had to be replaced after it was broken by an unknown object.
A jail employee slipped and fell in the jail on a wet floor. No loss of work time resulted.
Lewis Lange has been promoted to Security Sergeant to replace Sergeant Mary Ward who retired.
Detective Chris Zunker has requested reassignment to general detective rather than the drug grant detective. Detective Eric Miller has been assigned to replace him.
William Vertein has been hired as a jailor.
The Sheriff's Department is in the process of establishing an eligibility list for dispatcher. Forty persons took the written test and 32 people passed,
Wisconsin Sheriff's and Deputy Sheriffs Association has authorized paying for Sheriff Stammen and Captain Meister to attend the 2006 National Sheriff's Convention in Palm Springs California. Stammen is the treasurer for the statewide organization and Meister is the secretary. There will be no expense to Sauk County for their attending the convention.
Captain Mike Hafemann and Jail Nurse Margo Busser taught a session on jail mental health issues at the Wisconsin Counties conference in September. The session was well received.
Motion by Sinklair, seconded by Fordham, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted: Joan Fordham, Secretary