Law Enforcement

DATE: December 12, 2006

The regular meeting of the Sauk County Law Enforcement Committee was held on Tuesday, December 12, 2006, 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. Prantner; W. Schneider, Sauk County Humane Society; B. Hinze; J. Spencer; 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 9:50 AM.
2. Agenda: Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Wheeler, to adopt the agenda with the deletion of Item 11: Consideration and possible approval of request by Brent Rupert for one year leave of absence. The request has been withdrawn according to Sheriff Stammen.
   Motion carried.
3. Approve Minutes of Previous Meeting(s): Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Wheeler, to approve the minutes of the regular Law Enforcement Committee meeting held on November 14, 2006. Motion carried.
4. Communications:
   1. Sheriff Stammen gave the committee members a packet of copies of communications, to include a copy of an e-mail expressing thanks to Deputy Chuck Schreiber for his handling of an issue with a juvenile; a copy of a letter of retirement from Chief Deputy Prantner; a copy of a contract with Dane County for housing 55 inmates per day in 2007 in the Sauk County Jail at a rate of $51 per day per inmate; and a letter in regard to inmate telephone service.
5. Public Comment: Retiring Chief Deputy Joe Prantner told the committee that January 11, 2007, would be his last day of work. He thanked the committee members for their support for him and for the Sheriff’s Department.

   Committee member Wheeler spoke on the importance of having a law enforcement representative on the committee on public safety and the need to have a collaborative group to take advantage of grants available.

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

      The Shelter update was presented by Shelter Director Wendy Schneider. She reported that the number of animals received thus far in 2006 is 334 more than for the same period in 2005. However, adoptions are up more than 170 animals at this time. There were 33 calls for service in November and 5 bites cases, only one of which required quarantine at the Shelter.

      Schneider spoke of the need for more space for quarantined animals. Chair Stevens said she should start preparing a request for improvements at the Shelter.

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

   Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Sinklair, to approve payment of the November, 2006, bills for the Coroner in the amount of $3,133,37.
   Motion carried.

   Motion by Tollaksen, seconded by Montgomery, to approve payment of the Sheriff’s Department’s December, 2006, expenses in the amount of $116,744.45.
   Motion carried.

8. Consideration and Approval of Resolution Honoring Donna Mueller: This joint resolution had already been approved by the Executive and Legislative Committee.

   Motion by Wheeler, seconded by Montgomery to approve the Resolution Honoring Donna Mueller and to take the resolution to the Sauk County Board of Supervisors at their meeting on December 19, 2006.
   Motion carried.

9. Consideration and Approval of 2007 Contract with Dane County for Housing Inmates: The contract with Rock County for inmate housing in 2007 hasn’t been finalized. Dane County has expressed interest in housing 55 inmates in Sauk County at $51 per day per inmate. They’ll pay for 55 beds even if they don’t need them although that’s unlikely. If there are beds available over 55 they will pay $52 per day for them. The contract will commence January 1, 2007.

   Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, to approve entering in the contract with Dane County for housing a minimum of 55 inmates per day at $51 per day per inmate, with any amount over that paid at the rate of $52 per day per inmate, beginning January 1, 2007.
   Motion carried.

   The Committee Chair will inform the County Board of Supervisors of the contract. They do not need to vote on it, only to be informed of it.

   The Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Rick Raemisch, has also contacted Sheriff Stammen to discuss a possible contract to rent 94 beds per day for state prisoners.

   The possible opening of A Pod will be placed on the agenda for the January, 2007, Law Enforcement Committee meeting.

10. Update on Sauk County’s Participation in TraCS (Traffic and Criminal Software) Grant: TraCS is a system for electronic transmission of information from citations from the issuing officer to the computers in the Sheriff’s Department, thereby cutting down on the time spent by clerks to manually enter the data. Eventually it’s hoped this would provide the basis for an interdepartmental transfer of information from the arresting officer to the Clerk of Courts and the District Attorney’s Office. The amount needed to implement the initial phase of the program for the Sheriff’s Department is $44,000. A pool of money has been set aside for implementation of the software and the awards will be based on how many agencies apply for the grant. Lt. Kevin Fults is making an application and if the award is enough to cover the $44,000 cost, acceptance of the grant will be considered. If the payout is insufficient then other action may be taken on it.
12. Request to Solicit Bids for 2007 Squad Cars: The 2007 budget request is for purchase of nine squad cars. Both Ford and Dodge will be contacted to submit bids.

    Motion by Montgomery, seconded by Tollaksen, to authorize the Sheriff’s Department to solicit bids for the purchase of nine 2007 marked squad cars.
    Motion carried.

13. 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 November.

       There were 342 offender days for electronic monitoring in November. The cost of leasing the equipment was $1,870 and collections were $5,814, leaving a balance of $3,944.

       The year-to-date amount collected for housing out-of-county inmates is $1,056,956.54 as of November 30, 2006.

    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 November, 2006, for Sheriff’s deputies. A total of 4,648 calls for service came in. This doesn’t include the calls received and dispatched for fire, ambulance and other police departments in the county.

    3. Field Services Report

       The 11th traffic fatality for Sauk County occurred in December, 2006.

    4. Administration Report

       There were 158 transports done in November, bringing the year-to-date total for 2006 to 1,383.

       Damage to the exhaust system of the squad used by the electronic monitoring deputy occurred when the vehicle slide off the road.

       There were 1,468.5 hours of paid overtime in November, 2006, and 369 hours of compensatory time worked. There were 110 hours of overtime paid to supervisors; 84 for holidays worked, 1.5 hours for investigative duties and 24.5 hours for team training or call-out.

       Field Service Captain Richard “Chip” Meister has been selected to serve as Chief Deputy effective January 12, 2007.

       Security Captain Mike Hafemann gave a brief overview of the Alternatives to Incarceration training he had recently attended, put on by Wisconsin Counties. He said Sauk County is on the cutting edge of the programs recommended by the trainers by providing GED programs, parenting classes, anger management counseling, and employment readiness classes, as well as others.

       Chief Deputy Joe Prantner reported that based on the year-to-date expenditures and projected outstanding expenses, approximately $100,000 should be turned over to the general fund at the end of fiscal 2006. Revenues in excess of projected amounts and unspent salary allocations for positions that were vacant for varying periods in the past year account for most of the returned funds.

       Sheriff Stammen said he has been invited to participate in a conference in Washington, D.C., in May of 2007. The conference is a symposium of professionals from law enforcement, education and other related fields on “Understanding and Preventing School Shootings.” All expenses would be paid for him to attend the conference.

15. Adjourn to Date Specified: The next meeting of the Law Enforcement Committee was set for Tuesday, January 9, 2007, at the Law Enforcement Center.

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

Repectfully Submitted: Robert Sinklair, Secretary

(Minutes taken by B. Manning)