Law Enforcement Committee

DATE: February 13, 2007

The regular meeting of the Sauk County Law Enforcement Committee was held on Tuesday, February 13, 2007, in room D102A-Community Room, 1300 Lange Court, Baraboo, Wisconsin.

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

Members Present: D. Stevens, R. Sinklair, C. Montgomery, J. Wheeler, P. Tollaksen

Members Absent:

Members Excused:

Others Present: R. Stammen; R. Meister; M. Hafemann; J. Spencer; B Hinze; W. Schneider, Sauk County Humane Society; T. McCutchin; T. L. Bychinski; K. Schauf; K. Beghin; J. Gaalswyk; K. Fults; M. Koehler; R. Raemisch and M. Ordinans, Wisconsin Department of Corrections; B. Manning; Media

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 9:46 AM.
2. Agenda : Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, to adopt the agenda as written and mailed.
   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 January 9, 2007.
   Motion carried.
4. Communications :

   There were no communications.

5. Public Comment : There were no public comments.
6. Appearances :
   1. Sauk County Animal Shelter Operations Update

      The Shelter update was presented by Shelter Director, Wendy Schneider. She reported there were 65 dogs taken into the shelter in January and 58 dogs adopted. Fifty-six cats came in and 59 cats were adopted. The Animal Control Officer Justin Huelsemann handled 43 calls and there were five reported bite cases.

      Schneider said that she and Tim Stieve were going to meet to discuss an addition to the Shelter but hadn’t actually done so yet.

      Volunteers at the shelter donated 5,000 hours in 2006 and the Shelter ended the year in the black despite the increased numbers of animals taken in.

7. Review and Approval of December, 2006, and January, 2007, Bills for Coroner and Sheriff’s Department :

   Coroner Hinze reported December, 2006, expenses in the amount of $1,452.42 and January, 2007, expenditures of $2,686.04. She also informed the committee that the cost of an autopsy had increased to $1,500 as of January 1, as opposed to a cost of $1,300 in 2006.

   Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, to approve payment of the December, 2006, bills for the Coroner in the amount of $1,452.42 and January, 2007, expenses in the amount of $2,686.04.
   Motion carried.

   Motion by Sinklair, seconded by Wheeler, to approve payment of the Sheriff’s Department’s January, 2007, expenses in the amount of $81,678.96 and December, 2006, expenses in the amount of $10,300.17.
   Motion carried.

8. Discussion with Representative(s) of Wisconsin Department of Corrections Regarding Housing State Inmates : Richard Raemisch, Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, and Marty Ordinans, Director of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Office of Detention Facilities, attended the meeting to answer questions regarding housing state prisoners if A Block were to be opened and staffed. Among the topics of discussion were the number of inmates to be housed in Sauk County, the selection of which inmates would be placed here, medical expenses, per day costs, duration of contracts, other counties housing state inmates, inmate programs, costs and revenue considerations and transportation of inmates to and from Sauk County.

   Chair Stevens asked Raemisch and Ordinans if they would attend a meeting to answer questions from other County Board Supervisors. Both said they would do so.

9. Request for Authorization to Solicit Bids for 2007 Transport Vehicle : The transport vehicle to be replaced is a 1999 Dodge Caravan with 311,485 miles on it. Chief Deputy Meister reported that operating costs on the Dodge Caravan vans used as prisoner transport vehicles are approximately 1 cent per mile and he favored purchasing Dodge Caravans because of the reliability and low maintenance costs. The committee requested that bids be solicited from other dealers and Chief Deputy Meister said he would include all dealers in Sauk County.

   Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, to authorized the solicitation of bids for a 2007 transport van.
   Motion carried.

10. Consideration and Denial of Claim of Aaron J. Bengtson : This item was placed on the agenda by Corporation Counsel Todd Liebman in response to a Notice of Claim by Bengtson alleging damages arising from the suspension and revocation of his driver’s license. Bengtson was arrested by Deputy Ederer of the Sauk County Sheriff’s Department and charged with operating under the influence of an intoxicant, second offense, which is a criminal charge.

    Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Montgomery to approve the resolution Denying Claim of Aaron J. Bengtson and to take the resolution to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors at their meeting on February 22, 2007.
    Motion carried.

11. Discussion of Alternate Vehicles for Use as Detective Squads : Committee member Robert Sinklair stated he had done some research on trunk size, cost and fuel efficiency of vehicles other than the Ford Taurus. A discussion took place and the consensus was that if a vehicle met the specifications set forth any vehicle could be considered based on cost, trunk space and fuel efficiency.

    No action by the committee. This was an informational item.

12. Sheriff’s Report :
    1. Jail Report

       The committee was given a copy of the printout of the offenses for which people were booked into the Jail in January.

       The committee will do their annual inspection of the jail in March. The inspection will include having a lunch identical to the one served to the inmates on that day and Sheriff Stammen suggested possibly having lunch in A Pod.

       There were 14 inmates involved in the electronic monitoring program in January with a total of 326 boarding days. Expenses were $1,765 and collections were $5,542., leaving a balance of $3,776.50.

       Dane County was billed $99,851 for boarding in January, 2007, and $12.70 for medical expenses.

    2. Communication Center

       The committee received a report generated by the Communication Center Supervisor showing a break down of the calls for service for the month of January, 2007.

    3. Field Services Report

       Toni McCutchin and Kevin Fults reported to the committee on the progress on the TraCS grant. Sauk County has been approved for the grant in the amount of $20,000. Acceptance of this grant must be approved by the Sauk County Board of Supervisors. The committee will hold a special meeting prior to the regular meeting of the Board on February 22, 2007, to approve the resolution and it will be placed on the County Board agenda as a draft resolution.

       Sauk County had its first traffic fatality of 2007 on February 9. A pedestrian was walking on USH 12 in dark clothing and was struck to a van.

    4. Administration Report

       There were 935.75 hours of paid overtime in January and 699.5 hours of accrued compensatory time for total of 1,635.25 overtime hours.

       Supervisory overtime paid in January was 102 hours; 54.5 for ERT call-outs and team training, 42 hours for holiday hours worked and 5.5 hours worked in lieu of ordering in a union employee.

       There were 112 transports done in January , 2007.

       The civilian transport team program will be evaluated .

       Scott Dadam was promoted to the Detective Division from the Patrol Division.

       Kim Wasilewski went from the Detective Division to Court Security to fill the newly created position for an additional Court Security person.

       Derek Marshall was promoted from the Jail Division to the Patrol Division.

       Kristopher Mondloch, a jailor, has left to accept a position with the Wisconsin State Patrol.

       Deputy David May will retire on March 2, 2007, leaving a vacancy in the Court Security D ivision.

       The committee was given a copy of the draft of the end-of-year report for activities in the Sheriff’s Department.

13. Adjourn to Date Specified : The next meeting of the Law Enforcement Committee was set for Tuesday, March 13, 2007, at the Law Enforcement Center.

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

Respectfully Submitted: Robert Sinklair, Secretary (Minutes taken by B. Manning)