Citizen Focus Group Meeting- Baraboo

citizen_focus_groups-baraboo_5-12-2015.pdf (202 KB)

May 12, 2015  Baraboo, West Square Building, Rm 213,  5:00 p.m.

7 County Board Members – Tommy Lee Bychinski, John Dietz, Joan Fordham,  Andrea Lombard, Tom Kriegl, Peter Vedro, Scott Von Asten
4 Staff – Kerry Beghin, Wendy Klicko, Brentt  Michalek, Keri Olson
14 Public – John Eric Allen,  Judy Brey, Mark Cummings, Bill Dagnon Tim Damos, Wessie Dietz, Trish Henderson, Daniel Holzman, Sylvia Kriegl, Jim Lombard, Paul Hefty, Theresa Krusco, Greg Mc Mahan, Joe O’Brien

Public’s Comments Expressed:

The current justice system should be improved to change from punishment to treatment.  Expand and do not underfund Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) and Community Activated Recovery Enhancement (CARE). Reallocate Sheriff’s Department staff to alternatives to incarceration work.  Expand electronic monitoring and take advantage of GPS technology.  Inmates could pay for this privilege, or perhaps earn a “wage” for community service.
Expand preventative programming.  Encourage ways for inmates to keep social support with their families.  More costly to handle a problem after it exists than invest in preventative care.  ACE program encourages work for inmates.  Sheriff’s budget is too big and needs better oversight.  Sheriff’s budget is taking funds away from more important programs.
Why are Supervisors not allowed to speak during citizen forums?  Legal basis for not allowing Supervisors to speak should be provided.
Nurse Family Partnership sounds like a very promising program for improving mother and child health.  Creates a better community and improves school performance, which ultimately saves money.
Look for efficiencies in Sheriff’s Department.  Good work is being done by Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC).  CARE is emphasizing prevention and treatment, and curtailing recidivism.  Inmates are members of our community too.
Placemaking and green energy are natural fits for our beautiful Sauk County.
Appreciate the opportunity to have these listening sessions. 
Operational cost of jail and Sheriff’s Department is disproportionately large.  Staffing levels in the Sheriff’s Department have grown at a higher rate than inmate counts.  If more patrol officers are needed on the road, jailors should work on the road.
More services are needed for the mentally ill, seniors, disabled.  Support the libraries, maintain roads and the courts system.  Lopsided distribution of tax revenue.
Videotape committee meetings for posting to the website so the public can see the deliberation process.
Be more creative with jail, increasing inmate community service, for example providing animal shelter staffing.  Is more patrol really needed?  Transfer staff from jail to patrol.
Concern for safety in libraries.
County should not be in competition with private business, such as the County’s nursing home.  The County’s nursing home uses a large amount of tax levy dollars.
Law enforcement day is for memorials for fallen officers.  Would like a law enforcement day for the public and kids to interact with County and municipal officers, see squads and equipment.  Positive interaction would encourage respect and appreciation for law enforcement, not demonizing officers.
Unit A was opened under order of then Sheriff to falsify numbers.  Transparency has been taken at face value. 
Consider a program whereby addicts who seek help will not be prosecuted.  Someone could be assigned to help them.
System is hard on those with financial issues.  If someone gets a traffic ticket and can’t pay it, their license is revoked, making it harder to have a job and support family and pay the ticket.  Phone calls too expensive for inmates.  Need better interaction between inmates and their families.  Look at the perks Sheriff’s Department management receives, like vehicles.
Green energy is good.  Encourage preservation and strength of small local farms, instead of large corporate farms.
Need more civil running of the Board.  It seems that if a committee member is not liked, they are removed from their committee assignment.  Changed the number of members on a committee to put members they like on it.  Members are not above the rules.  Conversely, public also needs to be civil to Board members.
Crime rates, particularly violent crimes, have dropped.  Perhaps there needs to be an entirely new direction for keeping civilization civilized.
Should be more work with law enforcement interaction in the schools and community policing.  There used to be more work with liaisons in the schools.  Supervisors in the Sheriff’s Department should spend more time on the road.
Much support for CARE and NFP.  Approve of bold innovative steps the Board is taking with these programs.  These pilot programs appear to be successful at their start.
Sheriff’s Department operational study recommended video monitoring in jail to mitigate need for staff.  Don’t believe this was implemented.
Greatly concerned for State’s cuts to schools and education, social programs to help kids and families, cuts to ADRC and seniors.  Worried that privatizing social programs is not the answer.
Worried for cuts to protections of our natural resources.  Recycling funding cuts.  Public broadcasting cuts.  Should support libraries and ADRC.  Want Sheriff to be a better steward of tax dollars and provide more preventative programs.  Commend County for CJCC work.
Western Sauk County has high quality frac sand, and if/when a transportation system is developed our natural resources will be endangered.  Silica sand has high health risks.
County should not stifle discussion of Medicare / Medicaid funding.
Community groups could support those who fail means testing for government social services.
Completely in opposition of frac sand mining.
Public should be mindful, active voters.  Public must work to educate themselves.
Maintaining local control of government is vital.  Local decisions should not be made at the State level.