Law Enforcement

DATE: May 11, 2006

The regular meeting of the Sauk County Law Enforcement Committee was held on Thursday, May 11, 2006, at 9:50 A.M., in the Conference Room, Third Floor, Historic Courthouse, 510 Oak Street, Baraboo, Wisconsin.

The meeting was properly posted and all interested parties were notified.

Members Present: Montgomery, Stevens, Tollaksen, Sinklair, Wheeler

Members Absent:

Others Present: R. Stammen, B. Hinze, M. Hafemann, K. Fults, J. Prantner, B. Rupert, M. Backeberg, J. Welsch J. Gaalswyk, W. Schneider, B. Manning,

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 9:50 A.M.
2. Agenda: Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Sinklair, to adopt the agenda. Carried.
3. Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting(s): Motion by Sinklair, seconded by Tollaksen, to approve the minutes of the regular Law Enforcement Committee meeting held on Thursday, April 13, 2006. Motion carried.
4. Election of Committee Chair: Before beginning the process of election of officers for the committee, Charles Montgomery stated that at 9:30 PM on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, Peter Tollaksen had called him and said that County Board Chairman Marty Krueger said Montgomery is too cozy with the Sheriff and he (Krueger) did not want him to be chairman of the Law Enforcement and Judiciary Committee. And further that Krueger asked Tollaksen to be chairman of the committee but Tollaksen said he was too busy. Tollaksen said he would nominate Don Stevens as chair of the committee.

   Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Wheeler, nominating Donald Stevens for chair of the committee.
   Montgomery called for further nominations three times. No other nominations were made.

   Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Sinklair, that the nominations be closed and a unanimous ballot be cast for Donald Stevens for Chair. Motion carried.

   Chair Stevens took over the meeting.

5. Election of Committee Vice Chair: Chair Stevens asked for nominations for Vice Chair of the Committee.

   Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Sinklair, nominating Joan Wheeler as vice chair of the committee. Chair Stevens called for further nominations three times. No other nominations were made.

   Motion by Sinklair, seconded by Tollaksen, that the nominations be closed and a unanimous ballot be cast for Joan Wheeler for Vice Chair. Motion carried.

6. Election of Committee Secretary: Chair Stevens asked for nominations for Secretary of the Committee.

   Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, that Robert Sinklair be nominated as secretary of the committee. Committee Chair Stevens called three times for further nominations. No other nominations were made.

   Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Wheeler, that the nominations be closed and a unanimous ballot be cast for Robert Sinklair as secretary of the committee. Motion carried.

7. Communications: Sheriff Stammen gave the committee copies of correspondence items rather than reading them to the committee. The items referred to the retirement of State Jail Inspector Bob Lee, an item about the financial vouchers for committee members attending meetings and a memo concerning a reduction in the use of paper due to increased use of electronic communications.

   Chair Stevens said that future agendas should have an item for public comment and that Supervisor Gaalswyk wished to address the committee. Gaalswyk spoke concerning the posting of unapproved minutes to a secure site via the county's e-mail system and the posting of the agenda for meetings to the Sauk County website. He also spoke about the 2007 budget of the Sheriff's Department.

8. Appearances:
   1. Presentation of the Officer of the Year Award for 2005

      Sheriff Stammen told the committee that each month in 2005 an employee was selected for recognition for outstanding service. At the end of the year one of those employees was chosen as employee of the year by votes from other department employees. This year's award was given to Deputy Brent Rupert, who is a patrol deputy and one of the department's two canine officers. Deputy Rupert and K9 Boris were at the meeting. Chair Stevens presented Rupert with an Employee of the Year plaque.

   2. Sauk County Animal Shelter Operations Update

      Shelter Director Wendy Schneider reported that the shelter had reached its goal of $10,000 in fund raising during the Paws for a Cause event the previous weekend.

      The animal counts for April were 62 dogs taken in and 56 dogs adopted. There were 67 cats taken in and 53 adopted. There were 56 animal control calls in April and 13 bites cases. Shelter workers will be offering training to the rangers at Devils Lake State Park on handling stray animals and bite cases.

   3. Update on TRIAD awards given to Sauk County at Wisconsin TRIAD Conference

      Clerk Michelle Backeberg is the liaison person between the Sheriff's Department and The Sauk County Chapter of TRIAD which is a group comprised of law enforcement personnel, community volunteers and senior citizens working on safety and crime issues specifically related to senior citizens. She recently attended the biennial state TRIAD conference in Manitowoc and had submitted two projects done in Sauk County for consideration for program awards. The coffee can survival kit won an award as did a presentation on identity theft which was developed and presented by Detective Mike Foster of the Sauk County Sheriff's Department. Backeberg said that only four awards are given at the conferences and Sauk County won two of the four at this conference as they did two years ago at the previous statewide conference. Backeberg thanked the Sheriff and the committee for allowing her to be part of the TRIAD program.

9. Review and Approval of April, 2006, Bills for Coroner and Sheriff's Department: Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Sinklair, to approve payment of the April, 2006, bills for the Coroner in the amount of $418.12. Motion carried.

   The bills for the Sheriff's Department were carefully reviewed by the committee.

   Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Sinklair, to approve payment of the Sheriff's Department's April, 2006, expenses in the amount of $108.904.16. Motion carried.

10. Request for Authorization to Solicit Bids for Purchase of Replacement Board for Water Patrol/Water Rescue-Recovery: Detective Sergeant Joe Welsch told the committee that the current boat used for water patrol and rescue is a 1996 Spectrum with a 1996 Mercury motor. The boat and the motor are both at the point where more frequent maintenance is needed. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources offers a grant program which over a five year period will cover the cost of a new boat and motor. If soliciting the bids were to be authorized the option would be included to trade in the present boat and motor. Sheriff Stammen said the boats and motors last about 10 to 12 years.

    Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, to authorize soliciting bids for a boat and motor. Motion carried.

11. Consideration and Possible Approval of Request for Open Air Assembly Permit of Border Riders Motor Cycle Club: Captain Meister, who was not at the meeting, had done an inspection of the grounds where the Border Riders propose to hold their annual open air assembly and had recommended approval of the permit for the assembly which will be held over the Memorial Day weekend. The Border Riders complied with the requirements set forth by Sauk County Ordinance for such assemblies.

    Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Montgomery to approve granting the permit to the Border Riders for their open air assembly over the holiday weekend beginning May 28th, 2006. Motion carried.

12. Discussion on Annual Jail Health Committee: Security Captain Hafemann told the committee that each year the Jail Health procedures and reports are reviewed as part of the annual jail inspection process, which is mandatory. Each committee member was given a copy of the annual report.

    This was an informational item to make the committee aware of the health care provided to inmates, covering both the physical and mental health issues.

13. Report on Court Security Committee: The Court Security Committee is composed of Judge James Evenson, Administrative Coordinator Kathy Schauf, Sheriff Randy Stammen, Court Security Sergeant Bill Steinhorst and, Building Services Director Tim Stieve. The committee meets to discuss needs for security, mainly in the Historic Courthouse where the courtrooms are located, along with the District Attorney's Offices and Child Support. The committee is presently considering the need to have additional Court Security and is working on implementation of the court holding area in a renovated section of the old jail on the third floor of the building. This will involve policies and procedures for moving prisoners and building maintenance matters.
14. Sheriff's Report:
    1. Jail Report

       There were 269 days of electronic monitoring in April, 2006, and 16 inmates were part of the program for the month. Fees of $4,313.75 were collected and $1,463.90 was paid for lease of the equipment.

       Out-of-county revenues for April were:

       $13,468.00 for Dane County inmates housed
       118.75 medical expenses recouped

       $11,908.00 for Iowa County inmates housed
       74.34 medical expenses recouped

       $65,845.00 for Rock County inmates housed
       112.31 medical expenses recouped

       The year-to-date total for out-of-county housing is $378,908.87.

    2. Communication Center

       Nothing to report

    3. Field Services Report

       The third fatal traffic crash of 2006 occurred on May 6th, 2006

       There were 106 prisoner transports in April, 2006, bringing the year-to-date total to 456.

    4. Administration Report

       Patrol Deputy Stacy Hellmich has been promoted to the Detective Division

       Jailor Scott Steinhorst has been promoted to the Patrol Division

       A vacancy for a full-time jail nurse has been filled with the hiring of Criss Swanson.

       There were 109 hours of supervisory overtime in April.

       There two employee injuries reported in the month, a jammed finger and a fall.

       The committee discussed scheduling their meetings. It was decided to meet on the second Tuesday of each month unless otherwise scheduled. The June meeting will be held on Friday, June 2, 2006. The July meeting was scheduled for July 11, 2006.

15. Adjourn To Date Specified: The next regular meeting will be held on Friday, June 2, 2006.

    Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried.

Respectfully Submitted: Robert Sinklair, Secretary