Law Enforcement

DATE: November 14, 2006

The regular meeting of the Sauk County Law Enforcement Committee was held on Tuesday, November 14, 2006, in room D102A-Community Room, 1300 Lange Court, Baraboo, Wisconsin.

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

Members Present: Stevens, Sinklair, Montgomery, Wheeler

Members Absent:

Members Excused: Tollaksen

Others Present: R. Stammen; R. Meister; M. Hafemann; K. Fults; J. Prantner; W. Schneider, Sauk County Humane Society; K. Fults; 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 Donald Stevens at 9:30 AM.
2. Agenda: Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Sinklair, to adopt the agenda. Motion carried.
3. Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting(s): Motion by Sinklair, seconded by Wheeler, to approve the minutes of the regular Law Enforcement Committee meeting held on October 10, 2006. Motion carried.
4. Communications:
   1. Sheriff Stammen reported one communication. It was a letter from a woman in the State of Oregon expressing sympathy in regard to the shooting at Weston. Her community had experienced a similar tragedy.
5. Public Comment: Committee member Montgomery thanked those at the meeting for their sympathy and support in the recent loss of his sister.

   Committee member Sinklair addressed the issue of the new driving simulator which will be put into use in the next few weeks. Sinklair said he had supported fully the purchase of the simulator and hoped the widest possible range of conditions and scenarios would be used during the training.

6. Appearances:
   1. Sauk County Animal Shelter Operations Update

      The Shelter update was presented by Shelter Director Wendy Schneider. She reported that based on the number of animals received thus far in 2006, they’re projecting the 2006 totals will exceed 2005 by 400 more animals. Cat adoptions are down, a trend that also affects other shelters. They’re offering free cat adoptions at the present time because of the large number of cats and kittens they’ve received. They also have barn cats for adoption.

      The Shelter recently had an open house and fund raising event.

      There were 47 animal control calls in October and six bite cases.

7. Review and Approval of October, 2006, Bills for Coroner and Sheriff’s Department: The Coroner’s bills included the expense of three autopsies.

   Motion by Sinklair, seconded by Wheeler, to approve payment of the October, 2006, bills for the Coroner in the amount of $4,189.91. Motion carried.

   Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Wheeler, to approve payment of the Sheriff’s Department’s October, 2006, expenses in the amount of $94,344.03. Motion carried.

8. Consideration and Approval of Resolution Approving A Request to Apply For Aid to Law Enforcement With Wisconsin Ho-Chunk Lands Within Sauk County: Sauk County has received a grant for aid to law enforcement on tribal lands within Sauk County for the past 20 years approximately. The projected amount of this year’s grant is approximately $27,000.

   The County Board must approve a resolution to apply for the grant in order to receive it.

   Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Sinklair, to approve the resolution 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 November, 2006, meeting. Motion carried.

9. Consideration of Denying Claim of Estate of Jeffrey Heesen: Jeffrey Heesen’s estate has filed a claim against several entities, including Sauk County and the Reedsburg Ambulance Service for an unspecified amount. The claim states that a 911 call for medical assistance wasn’t handled in a timely manner. Heesen died of an acute asthma attack. Both Sauk County Corporation Counsel Liebman and Sheriff Stammen recommended that the claim be denied. Any requests for particulars regarding the claim should be referred to Corporation Counsel.

   Motion by Sinklair, seconded by Wheeler, that the resolution Denying Claim of Estate of Jeffrey Heesen be approved and that the resolution be taken to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors at the November, 2006, meeting. Motion carried.

10. Discussion on Jail Bed Classification: Jail administrative personnel have been tracking the number of additional beds that other agencies would rent if we had space available. This is done when arrangements are made with one of the counties who do rent beds in Sauk County. The purpose of the tracking is to gain data relevant to the opening of A Pod at some point in the future. All beds in the jail and Huber are full all the time. The 2007 contract with Rock County for inmate housing is in the works but hasn’t been finalized. Both Rock and Dane County will have new Sheriffs taking office in January, 2007, and these counties have both had inmates housed in Sauk County on a regular basis.
11. Update on Housing For Other Counties: October, 2006, revenues for housing Dane County inmates were $4,645.40 and for Rock County inmates revenues were $97,965.84, bringing the year-to-date total for housing and medical reimbursements to $962,388.01.
12. 2007 Sheriff’s Budget Request: Committee Chair Stevens said he believed the Sheriff, the department employees and the oversight committee had prepared a good budget request for 2007.
13. Discussion Regarding Animal Complaint, 06-11881, John and Betty Schultz: Detective Lieutenant Kevin Fults informed the committee that this complaint occurred on October 30, 2006, and concerned the killing of 67 sheep by dogs running at large. The results of the investigation have been turned over to the District Attorney’s Office, as well as citations having been issued to both the owner of the dogs and to the person who has custody of them. The dogs have been declared vicious under county ordinance which requires the owner and/or the custodial person to make special provisions for the penning and care of the animals. The owners of the sheep have recourse through the legal system to recompense by the owner of the dogs and by the person who was in charge of them.
14. Sheriff’s Report:
    1. Jail Report

       Jail Nursing Supervisor Margo Busser shared with the committee copies of the Jail Health Service Quarterly Report for April though September, 2006. As of September 30th, 2006, the jail nursing personnel had 6,908 face-to-face contacts with inmates. The committee was also informed of the kinds of medical issues encountered in the jail, as well as procedural information.

       The committee received a list of the charges against those persons booked into the Sauk County Jail in the month of October.

       Electronic monitoring for July covered 441 offender days and involved 23 inmates. The program brought in $4,643.25 after expenses were paid for lease of the equipment.

    2. Communication Center

       The committee received a report generated by the Communication Center Supervisor showing a year-to-date three-year comparison in calls for service.

       There are three vacancies in the Communication Center. Background investigations and second interviews have been scheduled for the top applicants.

    3. Field Services Report

       The 10th traffic fatality for Sauk County occurred on November 5, 2006.

    4. Administration Report

       There were 130 transports done in October, and the year-to-date total for 2006 is 1,227.

       Damage was reported as a chipped windshield on one of the squads, a squad car that was vandalized while a deputy was investigating a complaint in the Village of Hillpoint, a collision between a squad and a deer, a transport van versus a coyote, and a slashed tire on one of the squads while a deputy was in West Bend, Wisconsin, at a training class.

       There were 1,086 hours of paid overtime in October, 2006, and 140 hours of compensatory time worked. There were 31.5 hours of overtime paid to supervisors; 16.5 hours for team training or call-out, 4 hours to prevent order-in of a union employee, and 11 hours of investi- gation related to the shooting at Weston.

       Telecommunicator Cherie Gieck resigned. There were a number of promotions or transfer within the department.

       Sheriff Stammen and Captain Hafemann attended the first session of Alternatives to Incarceration put on by the Wisconsin Counties Association. Joan Wheeler asked them to share information with the committee at the next meeting after they’ve attended the second and final session on the topic.

15. Adjourn to Date Specified: The next meeting of the Law Enforcement Committee was set for Tuesday, December 12, 2006, at the Law Enforcement Center.

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

Respectfully Submitted: Robert Sinklair, Secretary