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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLECminutes122021GRANT COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DISASTER SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING GRANT COUNTY COMMUNITY SERVICES BUILDING Lancaster, WI 53813 December 20, 2021 The Grant County Law Enforcement/Emergency Management Disaster Services Committee Meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Chairman Roger Guthrie. The following members and personnel were present: LAW ENFORCEMENT/EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DISASTER SERVICES COMMITTEE: Greg Fry, Porter Wagner, Robert Keeney, Gary Northouse, John Beinborn and Gary Ranum. GUESTS: Sheriff Nate Dreckman; Chief Deputy Jack Johnson; Captain Travis Klaas; Steve Braun, Emergency Management Director; Jason Wagner, Emergency Management Planner; Coroner Phyllis Fuerstenberg; Shane Drinkwater, Information Technology; Tonya White, County Clerk; Amanda Degenhardt, Finance Director; Joyce Roling, Personnel Director; The Herald Independent; and Kelly Bird, Recording Secretary. Kelly verified the agenda had been posted at the County Clerk’s Office, Community Services Building, courthouse and on the county website. John Beinborn second by Gary Northouse approved the agenda with two additions being the Jail Tour and Donation. Porter Wagner second by Gary Ranum approved the minutes from the November 8 meeting with one correction. All above motions carried. There was no Public Forum to discuss. Coroner: Coroner Phyllis Fuerstenberg reported that autopsies have increased recently. There were no other updates. It was motioned by Gary Northouse and second by Porter Wagner to approve the Coroner’s Financials and Invoices along with the Coroner’s Report. Motion carried. Sheriff’s Briefing: The monthly activity report was reviewed for November. The Calls for Service for the month of November were 2487 with Grant County handling 1091. Inmate population was at 52 this morning. There were 39 inmates in house, 40 male and 12 female. Nine inmates are on the Electronic Monitoring Program and one has been transferred to another county for Huber Work Release. Three inmates are serving their sentence in another county. There are nine sentenced inmates, six waiting to be sentenced and seven on Probation Holds. There are 17 inmates being held for other counties. Deputies were called to an incident in Potosi where a man forced entry into a residence of a female he had a previous relationship with. While the Deputies were outside of the residence the male shot the female and then shot himself. The male was pronounced dead at the scene and the female is currently in a rehabilitation center in Illinois with very serious injuries. An inmate committed suicide in the Jail in the early morning hours of November 25. The inmate was not on a suicide watch or did not indicate any signs of suicide. Jail Staff noticed while doing a cell check on the inmate which is done every 45 minutes. Iowa County Sheriff’s Department is investigating this incident. The State will also review the incident. Staff were sent home as well as offered services. The other inmate in the cell was also offered services. The drone that was purchased through funds received from a donation has been in use. Sgt. Todd Miller and Deputy Ben Keller are both trained to operate the drone. There have been complaints about the Jake Brakes that are being used by trucks while traveling by the Community Services Building. Sheriff Dreckman contacted the Director of Social Services as well as the Director of ADRC to see if they had also had complaints. The Director of Social Services would support an Ordinance but there was no response from the Director of ADRC. This is informational at this time. The current Chief Deputy Jack Johnson is retiring and his last day will be January 7. Sheriff Dreckman interviewed four internal candidates to be appointed as the new Chief Deputy and chose the current Captain/Jail Administrator Travis Klaas. He will officially be appointed in January. The Sheriff’s Office will be retiring K-9 Ricco the first of the year. His handler Deputy Ben Keller will be transferring to a new position within the department. K-9 Ricco is eight years old and will be sold to Deputy Keller. The Sheriff’s Office will be sending someone in the spring to train for a replacement K-9. The training and K-9 will be purchased through donations that have already been received. Sheriff Dreckman would also like to add a Therapy Dog in the Jail. The Therapy Dog would be assigned to one of the Jailers and be used for mental health issues in the Jail, schools, and Orchard Manor. The funding for the Therapy Dog will come from The Commissary Account which is money received from inmates for purchasing items through the Jail. There will be no out of budget spending needed. Under the Radio Project Update, the radio tower sites are close to being narrowed down as well as some funding. It is important have Project Managers and funding approval to keep the project moving forward. It was motioned by Gary Northouse and seconded by Bob Keeney to authorize Promissory Note(s) for public safety communications system enhancement not to exceed $11,000,000.00. Motion carried. It was motioned by Porter Wagner and seconded by Gary Northouse to have Co-Project Manager’s with one member being from the IT Department and one member being from the Sheriff’s Office. Motion carried. Under Personnel, there is currently one Dispatcher position open, two Female Jailer positions open, three Male Jailer positions are in the background process and one is scheduled to take the Psychological Exam. The Jail Captain position will also be open in January. An Awards Banquet was held for past and present employees with 19 awards being given. Captain-Jail Administrator Travis Klaas was present to discuss the issues with jail recruitment and retention of Jailer’s. There are several reasons that have made the Jailer’s work duties much more difficult mentally and physically. The new facility is very large and spread out and not as safe as the old Jail. Jailers are forced into cell blocks for inmate checks. There have been changes in the inmates with an increase in mental health issues, suicide watches, administrative confinements and drug use. There has also been an increase in the Use of Force, Taser Deployment and staff assaults. The low pay scale, the protective status for the Jailer’s, and dealing with those issues are causing Jailer’s to take employment elsewhere. This is a statewide problem. Personnel Director Joyce Roling and Sheriff Dreckman have discussed this issue regularly. The County Board was previously in favor of giving the Jailer’s the Protective Status but an Attorney from ETF said it was not allowed. There are 13 other counties where Jailers have the Protective Status. It was decided that Sheriff Dreckman and Joyce Roling come back next month with possible resolutions to this. No Training to discuss. Under Grants, Sheriff Dreckman notified the committee of a large anonymous donation that was given to the Badger State Sheriff’s Association in the amount of 1.5 million dollars. The money will be dispersed to counties who apply, for the purchase of equipment. Sheriff Dreckman has a list of equipment he would like to purchase costing $29,000.00. This is not a grant application. It was decided that Sheriff Dreckman takes this to the Full County Board tomorrow. The Sheriff’s Office Invoices and Financials were presented. Gary Ranum second by Porter Wagner made a motion to accept the Invoices and Financials. Motion carried. Emergency Management: Emergency Management Director Steve Braun presented the Director’s Report. Steve introduced Jason Wagner, the new Emergency Management Planner to the committee. Jason has background in coaching as well as being on the Fire Department for many years. The last month has been very busy for meeting deadlines for the Assistance to Firefighters Grants. The focus this year is on communications equipment. Funds that were raised from the Boscobel Community for damages received in the tornado were dispersed to families for expenses not covered by insurance. The National Guard will be helping out Healthcare Facilities with COVID-19 testing starting January 7. There was no Financial Packet to review due to not having an Emergency Management Planner. Steve does anticipate having a surplus at the end of the year. It was motioned by Gary Northouse and seconded by John Beinborn to approve the Emergency Management Director’s Report. Motion carried. Committee members and guests completed a tour of the Jail. It was motioned by Gary Northouse and seconded by John Beinborn to adjourn to Monday, January 17, 2022 at 9:00am. Motion carried. Respectfully Submitted, Greg Fry, Secretary Kelly Bird, Recording Secretary