Law Enforcement

DATE: February 13, 2006

The regular meeting of the Sauk County Law Enforcement Committee was held on Monday, February 13, 2006, 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: Fordham, Carlson, Montgomery

Members Excused:

Members Absent: Sinklair

Others Present: W. Schneider, Sauk County Humane Society; R. Stammen; R. Meister; J. Prantner; Chief Kluge, Baraboo Police Department; B. Hinze; J. Tobin; J. Prantner; J. Hannagan; J. Welsch, L. Forbes-Miller; T. Lohr; M. Hafemann; Public

1. Call To Order and Certification of Open Meeting Law: The meeting was called to order and compliance with the Open Meeting Law was certified by Chair Charles Montgomery at 9:30 A.M.
2. Agenda: Motion by Fordham, seconded by Carlson, to adopt the agenda with the change to reflect that the minutes to be approved were for the meeting held on January 12, 2006.
   Motion carried unanimously.
3. Approve Minutes of Regular Meeting Held January 12, 2006: Motion by Carlson, seconded by Fordham, to approve the minutes of the regular Law Enforcement Committee meeting held on Thursday, January 12, 2006.
   Motion carried unanimously.
4. Communications:
   1. Sheriff Stammen read an e-mail he had received from Tori Vesley, Corporation Counsel for the Sauk County Child Support Agency. Vesley cited the excellent cooperation and help she receives from the staff of the Sheriff's Department in general and specifically mentioned two jailors, Deb Horkheimer and Trista Prantner, who had gathered critical documents needed for a court hearing for which there was short notice.
   2. Sergeant Meicher of the Baraboo Police Department had sent a letter to Sheriff Stammen highlighting the assistance Patrol Deputy James Hodges had rendered their department while they were investigating a traffic crash that involved the arrest of an individual for driving while under the influence of an intoxicant, and who had caused significant property damage.
   3. Sheriff Stammen then stated that he had received an inquiry from committee person Fordham regarding the procedures for dispensing medications in the jail. Fordham was responding to a complaint she had received from an individual who stated her son, who was serving a sentence at the Huber Center, was not given his medication as directed. The woman stated this led the inmate to cause a problem for the jail staff. The person also stated they would have brought medication for the inmate but her son was not allowed to call them to notify them.

      Hafemann said medications are dispensed twice a day for inmates unless the doctor specifies that more frequent dosing is needed. All medications being taken are reviewed by the doctor for the facility. He ensures that medications are given often enough to maintain the therapeutic levels for the inmates and will consult with the inmate's personal physician if necessary to verify the inmate's medication needs. Hafemann said when an inmate brings medication to the facility the medications have to be verified by the jail nursing staff as being what they're proported to be before they're dispensed. He said that frequently he receives calls from concerned family members regarding medical issues of inmates. He's unable to discuss the matter with family members because of the confidentiality of medical records and family members are sometimes not given complete information by the inmate.

      Chairman Montgomery stated he had also received a phone complaint regarding the same issue. He had attempted to call the woman back but was unable to reach her. Fordham said she would relay to the woman the procedures followed for medications and confirm the presence of medical staff to look after the needs of the inmates if she could reach the woman. In response to her inquiry about the maintenance of medical records, Hafemann verified that the medical files are kept and are reviewed when an inmates reenters the jail or the Huber Center after being released. All medications given are recorded and visits with medical staff are also documented and kept.

5. Appearances:
   1. Presentation of the Officer of the Month Award for December, 2005

      Detective Justin Hannagan was selected as Officer of the Month for the number of his criminal arrests, juvenile arrests, traffic citations and traffic crash reports. Hannagan shows initiative and an excellent work ethic. The award was presented by Chair Charles Montgomery.

   2. Sauk County Animal Shelter Operations Update

      Sauk County Animal Shelter Director Wendy Schneider said plans for the annual dog walk on May 6th, are coming along. The Shelter is receiving a lot of publicity and favorable reports. Schneider said that in January, 106 animals came into the Shelter compared to 63 last year. She also told the committee that Walmart has a rewards program that makes a cash donation to an organization where a Walmart employee volunteers. The Humane Society received a check for $250 from Walmart.

      There were 36 animal calls last month. Of the eight bite cases in January, only one required the animal to be quarantined at the shelter because the rabies shots weren't current. Schneider said she thought the public was responding to the rabies prevention efforts.

6. Review and Approval of December, 2005, and January, 2006, bills for the Coroner and Sheriff's Department: Coroner Hinze reported her final expenses for the 2005 fiscal year. There was an autopsy included with the final December bills, and two autopsies included with her January expenses.

   Motion by Fordham, seconded by Tollaksen, that payment of the Coroner's bills be approved, in the amount of $1,384.35 for December, 2005, and $3,845.76 for January, 2006.
   Motion carried unanimously.

   The Sheriff's December, 2005, and January, 2006, expenses were reviewed.

   Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Fordham, to approve payment of the Sheriff's December, 2005, bills in the amount of $27,972.40 and the January, 2006, bills in the amount of $97,320.58.
   Motion carried unanimously.

   Chief Deputy Prantner did a preliminary review of the 2005 budget balances and said it appeared there would be about $518,000 in unspent monies being turned back to the general fund. The funds are primarily due to unfilled positions and jail housing revenues in excess of projected amounts.

7. Consideration and Approval of Resolution Authorization to Purchase Direct Link Crisis Negotiation Phone System from Enforcement Technology Group: Baraboo Police Chief Dennis Kluge and Lieutenant of Detectives Kevin Fults addressed this issue with the committee. The equipment in question would replace the current "throw phone" which is very old. Kluge said the throw phone used by the Critical Incident Negotiating Team (CIN) failed during a recent incident involving a barricaded, suicidal male near a Baraboo elementary school. The members of the CIN team (who are members of several police departments as well as Sheriff's Department employees) were forced to actually yell at the person to try to negotiate and it made the entire incident more difficult and dangerous, both for law enforcement personnel and the barricaded man. Kluge also said that parts are no longer available to repair the phone

   Lt. Fults explained that a "throw phone" is precisely what it sounds like. It is thrown to the suspect and is hard wired to a receiver/transmitter on the other end. This makes the conversations impossible to intercept by unauthorized persons and gives negotiators another tool to use to try to resolve situations without injury. Sergeant Jeff Tobin said he had been at training where the Direct Link Crisis Negotiation Phone System was used and he said it's an excellent system. Some portions of the operation of the system are patented and the company will upgrade the system when new technology becomes available. Sheriff Stammen estimated the negotiation system will last for 15 to 20 years. No other bids were sought for the replacement of the old throw phone because Direct Link Crisis Negotiation Phone System is the foremost vendor of such systems and the only one that has many of the needed features .

   Motion by Fordham, seconded by Tollaksen, to approve the resolution Authorization to Purchase Direct Link Crisis Negotiation Phone System from Enforcement Technology Group, and to take the resolution to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors at the February 21, 2006, meeting.
   Motion carried unanimously.

8. Request For Authorization to Solicit Bids for Purchase of 2006 Transport Van: Captain Meister asked the committee to authorize him to solicit bids for the replacement of a 2001 Dodge Caravan transport van with 256,500 miles on it. The van is now at the point of requiring maintenance to keep it roadworthy and monies to purchase a replacement van were included in the 2006 adopted Sheriff's budget.

   Motion by Carlson, seconded by Tollaksen, to authorize the solicitation of bids to purchase a replacement van for the 2001 Dodge Caravan.
   Motion carried unanimously.

9. Possible closed session pursuant to Wis. Stats. s. 19.85(1)(f), consideration of financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data for specific person, preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigation of charges against specific persons except here par. (b) applies, which if discussed in public would have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such histories or data, or involved with such problems or investigations: The committee did not go into closed session.
10. Reconvene in Open Session: The committee did not go into closed session.
11. Sheriff's Report:
    1. Jail Report

       The out-of-county revenues for January were $115,266.21 for housing and medical expenses for Rock and Dane County inmates combined. Each is being charged $52 per day per inmate. Currently there are 40 inmates from Rock County in the Sauk County Jail.

       The committee was given a copy of a booklet prepared by Program Administrator Tiffani Gruber outlining the programs in place for jail inmates. The committee asked to have a copy distributed to each county board supervisor.

       The electronic monitoring report for January showed a net gain of $2,725 after paying equipment lease. There were 260 inmate days on electronic monitoring.

    2. Communication Center Report

       There was nothing to report under the Communication Center.

    3. Field Services Report

       The first traffic fatality of 2006 occurred on January 20, 2006. The driver of a vehicle was wanted on a warrant and was driving a stolen truck at the time of the crash. Alcohol was a factor in the crash.

       There were 111 prisoner transports done in January, 2006.

    4. Administration Report

       Sheriff Stammen informed the committee that one of the deputies was involved in a traffic crash with a motorcycle while operating her squad near Sauk City.

       January overtime was 777 paid hours and 575 hours of compensatory time, for a total of 1,350 hours. Included in those statistics are 86 hours of supervisory overtime; 50 were holiday hours, 28 hours were team callouts or training and 8 hours of overtime paid in lieu of ordering in a union employee after all eligible union employees declined to work the overtime.

       Four resignations were brought to the committee's attention, those being the resignation of Patrol Deputy David Riedel; Jailors Amanda Daniels and Nicole Gleash; and Jail Nurse Cheryl Fry.

       Lieutenant Kevin Fults, Detective Eric Miller and Assistant District Attorney Kevin Calkins attended a meeting at Spring Green of the Wisconsin Riverway Preservation Board. They attended the meeting to answer questions the Board had regarding 14 arrests made last year of persons on the Wisconsin River. The arrests were made with the help of K9 Boris and were drug related. Fults said it was a good meeting and Calkins had answered questions concerning the constitutionality of the arrests.

12. Adjourn To Date Specified: The next regular meeting will be held on Thursday, March 9, 2006, at 9:30 AM.

    Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Fordham, to adjourn the meeting.
    Motion carried unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted: Joan Fordham, Secretary

Minutes taken by: B. Manning