Law Enforcement Committee

DATE: May 8, 2007

The regular meeting of the Sauk County Law Enforcement Committee was held on Tuesday, May 8, 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; M. Hafemann; B Hinze; W. Schneider, Sauk County Humane Society; T. L. Bychinski; 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 9:41 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 April 10, 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 updated the committee on the 31 dogs that were brought into the Shelter after the car and trailer they were traveling in on the interstate was involved in a traffic crash. Schneider said the community response has been tremendous and of the animals taken in there are only 11 left. The rest have been adopted, except for one dog that will most likely be euthanized. There have also been donations of money, food, toys, and other items to the Shelter.

      The dog walk fund raiser held the weekend of May 5th raised $10,000. Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Dadam and K9 Boris were involved in a demonstration which was a big hit.

      Bite cases are up and the Shelter has many cats in need of homes.

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

    Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Montgomery, to approve payment of the April, 2007, expenses for the Coroner in the amount of $5,481.78.
    Motion carried.

    Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Montgomery, to authorize payment of the Sheriff’s Department’s April, 2007, expenses in the amount of $260,791.87, which includes nine patrol squads p urchased from Koenecke Ford.
    Motion carried.

  8. Discussion of A Pod Opening and Possible Resolution : Supervisor Tollaksen said he had requested this item to be placed on the agenda since he was unable to attend the Law Enforcement Committee the previous month when the item was on the agenda. He gave a brief statement of his position on the opening of A Pod. A discussion followed among the committee members. Sinklair asked to have a response in writing from Department of Corrections persons rejecting the option of the State of Wisconsin renting the space in A Pod and hiring and operating the unit with state employees rather than renting beds from Sauk County. Sheriff Stammen said that that suggestion had been made when the issue was discussed during the meeting that Marty Ordinans and Richard Raemisch attended and they had said that that time they would not consider such a plan.

    After a lengthy discussion and the exchange of various ideas, motion was made by Tollaksen, seconded by Montgomery, to approve the Resolution Authorizing the Opening of Unit A To House Prisoners from Other Jurisdictions in the Sauk County Law Enforcement Center, and to proceed with the contract with the State of Wisconsin, Department of Corrections to house state prisoners.

    Roll call vote was taken:

    Motion carried.

    Sinklair asked that as long as the resolution had passed that the committee sign it. The existing copy of the resolution showed the date of the County Board of Supervisors’ meeting on April 17, 2007.

    Motion by Sinklair, seconded by Tollaksen, to approve the original resolution with the only change being that the date of submission to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors is June 19, 2007.
    Motion carried.

    The opening of A Pod will be brought before the County Board of Supervisors at the May meeting with the information that it will come to a formal vote at the June meeting, which will give everyone 30 days to research the issue and bring questions to the June meeting. The resolution will also go to the Finance Committee and the Personnel Committee at their June meetings.

  9. Review and Possible Approval of Resolution To Eliminate One (1.) Full-time Clerk Position and Create One (1.) Full Time Financial Analyst for the Sauk County Sheriff’s Department Outside of the 2007 Budget Process : This joint resolution of the Finance Committee, the Personnel Committee and the Law Enforcement Committee was approved by the Finance Committee at its meeting at 8:30 AM on May 8. The position is the equivalent to those at the Health Care Center, Human Services and the Highway Department and would provide specialized assistance in the complexities of budgeting and all aspects of preparation and administration of the budget, in addition to numerous other duties and responsibilities.

    Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, to approve Resolution To Eliminate One (1.) Full-time Clerk Position and Create One (1.) Full Time Financial Analyst for the Sauk County Sheriff’s Department Outside of the 2007 Budget Process and to take the resolution to Personnel Committee on May 11, and to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors at their meeting on May 15, 2007.
    Motion carried.

  10. Consideration and Possible Approval of Application of Border Riders for Open Air Assembly Permit : Chief Deputy Meister inspected the Border Riders site for compliance with the terms for the County Ordinance for Open Air Assembly. Each year the Border Riders host a pig roast and camping event in the Town of Ironton during the Memorial Day weekend. Meister reported the requirements have been meet and recommended the committee approve the application as they have in the past.

    Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, to the approve the application and grant the permit for the Border Riders for an open air assembly over the Memorial Day weekend.
    Motion carried.

  11. 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 April.

      Daniel Heimann and Daniel Johnson have been hired at jailors.

      There were 15 inmates involved in the electronic monitoring program in April with a total of 342 days. Equipment lease expenses were $1,881 and revenues were $5,814, leaving a credit of $3,933 over expenditures.

      Dane County was billed for $84,306 in April and Rock County was billed $3,148.03 for inmate housing. The year-to-date revenues for housing out-of-county inmates is $356,522.21.

      The committee was informed about possible changes in the revocation process for probation and parolee people who reoffend.

    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 April, 2007,

    3. Field Services Report

      There were six traffic deaths in Sauk County in April, bringing the year-to-date total to eight.

    4. Administration Report

      Luetta Forbes-Miller, a detective, has announced her retirement on July 31, 2007. Luetta is an outstanding detectives and she will be very much missed in the department.

      There 125 transports done in April, bringing the total for the year to 484.

      There were 162.75 hours of overtime paid to supervisors in April; 82 hours for working grants, 28.75 for holidays worked, 39 for team call-outs or training; 4.5 hours for investigative duties and 8.5 hours worked to avoid ordering in a union employee.

      Overall the department employees worked 1,621 hours of paid overtime and 263.75 hours of compensatory time for a total of 1,884.75.

      The Sauk County Memorial Golf Outing, which is held each year to raise money for the Law Enforcement Memorial on the Capitol grounds in Madison will be held on June 12, 2007, at Devils Head Resort.

  12. Adjourn to Date Specified : The next meeting of the Law Enforcement Committee was set for Tuesday, June 12, 2007, at the Law Enforcement Center.

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

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