DATE: March 11, 2008
The regular meeting of the Sauk County Law Enforcement Committee was held on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, at 9:30 A.M., 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, Wheeler, Montgomery, Tollaksen
Members Absent:
Members Excused:
Others Present: R. Stammen, B. Hinze, M. Hafemann, K. Fults, R. Meister,
W. Schneider, B. Pointon, J. Fry, 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 A.M.
2. Agenda : Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, to adopt the agenda. Motion carried.
3 . Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting : Motion by Sinklair, seconded by Montgomery, to approve the minutes of the February 12, 2008, meeting. Motion carried.
4. Communications : Sheriff Stammen handed out copies of several communications; among them a copy of an e-mail from Kevin Fults to the Sauk County Highway Department thanking them for their assistance during a recent bank robbery; a letter of appreciation for Deputy Mark Rabata from a person who was stranded in a snow storm; and an e-mail from Terry Wise, the Director of Baraboo Ambulance District, praising three dispatchers who assisted a caller on a 911 call of a person who was apparently having a heart attack. A dispatcher instructed the caller on how to start CPR until the arrival of EMS personnel.
The Sheriff also gave the committee members a copy of a news release concerning the Sauk County Sheriff's Department's admittance to the Justice Gateway, which is a statewide information sharing program. Clerk Wendy Carns has been very involved in getting the connection up and running. She was presented with a certificate from the state and it will be hung in her office. The final communications were a copy of a letter from Marty Ordinans, Office of Detention Facilities, approving occupancy for housing inmates in Unit A; an e-mail from a person whose elderly parents were assisted by a deputy when their home alarm went off & they couldn't get it deactivated; and a copy of an e-mail sent by Sheriff Stammen to Kathy Schauf and Marty Krueger regarding an attempted suicide in the jail.
5. Public Comment : Brad Pointon from Pointon Communications appeared for public comment. He stated he had been told by Tommy Lee Bychinski, the Chair of the Sauk County Infrastructure Committee, to provide information regarding the proposal of the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance to use Wisconsin's portion of the federal Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant in the amount of $15,367,216 to create a backbone system for the Wisconsin State Patrol. He presented information from the Internet about the proposal and informed the committee of the composition of the committee appointed by the state to address the issue. It was his opinion that there was merit to the idea of using the money to boost the state's system, and that there had been no objection to the proposal initially. A lengthy discussion followed with questions from the committee and Sheriff's Department personnel on the information Pointon presented. He was thanked for his input and for taking the time to address the committee on the pending advisory resolution Opposing the Proposal of the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance to Keep All of the Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant Program Funds that have been made Available to Wisconsin . That resolution has already been approved by the Executive and Legislative Committee and the Sauk County Infrastructure Committee.
6. Appearances : There were no appearances.
7. Sauk County Animal Shelter Operations Update
Shelter Director Wendy Schneider passed out the Director's Report for January, 2008. She reported the Shelter had taken in 11 small dogs who had been mistreated. The animals were filthy & had dental problems. The animals were cleaned, treated medically and have either been adopted or are in foster care awaiting adoption.
The number of pets being surrendered is up at the Shelter. Schneider attributed that to owners not being able to afford to care for the pets and the decrease in rental housing that will allow tenants to have pets.
There were eight bite cases reported in February.
8. Discussion on Fiber Optics Interoperability Functions and Possible Uses : A discussion took place regarding functions of the system primarily as it relates to video conferencing between courtrooms and the various Wisconsin prisons, county jails, mental health facilities and juvenile facilities. The Wisconsin Supreme Court is currently concerned with setting up rules about the use of video conferencing and in what instances it might be used. The need to expand the use is there. This will be further addressed with the Sauk County Court personnel.
9. Review and Approval of December, 2007, and January, 2008, Bills for Coroner and Sheriff's Department : The Coroner's bills for the month of February, 2008, totaled $373.30.
Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Montgomery, to approve payment of the February, 2008, bills for the Coroner in the amount of $373.30. Motion carried.
The Sheriff's Department's bills were reviewed and discussed. The expenses for Unit A are a cause for confusion and Sheriff's personnel will be working with accounting to set up a report that should make the expenditures clearer.
Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Wheeler, to approve payment of the Sheriff's Department's February, 2008, expenses in the amount of $150,043.01. Motion carried.
10. Consideration of resolution Authorization to Purchase 2008 Ford Crown Victoria Replacement Squad Car : A 2005 Ford squad car was destroyed in a traffic crash in February 10, 2008, on Hwy 12. Administrative Coordinator Kathy Schauf authorized the expenditure of funds to replace the marked squad car under emergency procedures. A 2008 Ford Crown Victoria squad car was located at Kayser's Ford in Madison at the state bid price of $21,399 and the vehicle was purchased. The insurance carrier for the driver of the vehicle which struck the squad car has reimbursed Sauk County for the value of the damaged squad in the amount of $10,300 and the balance of $11,099 will be paid by Local Government Property Insurance Fund.
Motion by Wheeler, seconded by Montgomery, to approve the resolution Authorization to Purchase 2008 Ford Crown Victoria Replacement Squad Car and to take the resolution to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors on March 18, 2008. Motion carried.
11. Consideration of resolution Commending Mary A. Andrews for Twenty-one Years of Faithful Service to the People of Sauk County : Security Sergeant Mary Andrews retired on March 6, after being employed by the Sauk County Sheriff's Department for twenty-one years.
Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Wheeler, to approve the resolution Commending Mary A. Andrews for Twenty-one Years of Faithful Service to the People of Sauk County and to take the resolution to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors on March 18, 2008. Motion carried.
12. Consideration of resolution Opposing the Proposal of the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance to Keep All of the Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant Program Funds That Have Been Made Available to Wisconsin : Since this resolution was discussed earlier during public comment there wasn't a great deal of further discussion. It was noted again that the Executive and Legislative Committee and the Sauk County Infrastructure Committee had already approved the joint resolution.
Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Wheeler, to approve the advisory resolution Opposing the Proposal of the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance to Keep All of the Public Safety Interoperable Communications Grant Program Funds That Have Been Made Available to Wisconsin and to take the resolution to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors on March 18, 2008. Motion carried.
13 . Sheriff's Report :
Jail : Sheriff Stammen reminded the committee that by statute they're required to do an annual jail inspection tour and to eat a meal identical to the one served to inmates on that particular day. This was postponed until May when the new committee will have been appointed.
The jail program report was handed out. The committee was informed that Hubers have been assisting the Highway Department by washing trucks, shoveling snow off the roof and doing other tasks that can't be handled by regular staff due to the extraordinary number of hours needed to deal with snow removal. They'll also be filling sand bags and doing spring clean up around the grounds.
Committee member Sinklair wanted to be sure that there was an agreement with the union that the tasks being done by inmates wouldn't be a cause for a grievance somewhere down the road. Chair Stevens will clarify that with Commissioner Muchow.
January electronic monitoring covered 338 boarding days and involved 19 inmates. Fees collected were $5,746 and the cost of leasing the equipment was $1,837, leaving a revenue balance of $3,909.
February electronic monitoring covered 394 boarding days and involved 21 inmates. Fees collected were $6,698 and the cost of the equipment was $2,162.50, leaving a revenue balance of $4,535.50.
The jail booking report was handed out.
Dispatch: The report on calls for service was given to the committee members.
Field Service: The following Triple III reports were received: a deputy fell on the ice; a prisoner transport vehicle was involved in a collision with a deer, one of the squads had to have the transmission rebuilt; there was two incidents involving squad cars and deer collisions, with minor damage to the vehicles; an 11-year-old struck one of the prisoner transport persons, a jailor fell on the ice and another jailer was hit in the eye by an elbow.
There have been no fatal accidents in Sauk County in 2008.
Administration: There were 97.5 hours of supervisory overtime in January and 20.5 hours of supervisory overtime in February.
Jason Merrell, a jailor, has resigned. Security Deputy Leigh Wille and Patrol Deputy Charles Schrieber have retired. Security deputies Derek Marshall and Troy Deal have also resigned. David Burton has been promoted to the position of Jail Sergeant and Security Deputy Trista Lins has been transferred to the Clerical Division. Security Deputy Tom Clauer has been promoted to the Patrol Division, Sarah Statz has been promoted from the Clerical Division to the Security Division and Nicole Luth has been promoted to Jail Sergeant.
The following people have been hired as jailors: M. Tesch, S. Statz, G. Trinrud, W. Alcantar, C. Rockweiller, D. Heiman, L. Buelow, J. Bonnell, M. Cook, C. Fiske, B. Henke and J. Biege. Shawna Schultz has been hired as a dispatcher.
14 . Adjourn To Date Specified: The next regular meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, April 8, 2008, at 9:30 A.M.
Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Sinklair, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried.
________________________
Robert Sinklair, Secretary
( Minutes taken by B. Manning)