A done deal: Village, Town reach policing agreement

By Dave Fidlin

Correspondent

After several months of negotiating, weighing pros and cons and collecting data, elected officials in the Village and Town of Waterford are moving forward with a plan that calls on the town to provide police resources to the village, beginning in January.

Motions taken by the Town and Village boards June 8 set the plan in motion and unwind a longstanding arrangement that has entailed the Racine County Sheriff’s Department providing exclusive public safety to the village.

Because of their roles on the Racine County Board, top elected leaders in both municipalities — Village President Tom Roanhouse and Town Chairman Tom Hincz — did not deliberate or cast votes at this week’s meetings.

The Town Board voted, 4-0, in favor of the contractual relationship, while the Village Board gave a slightly more mixed 4-2 vote. On the village end, trustees Jerry Filut, Don Houston, Ron Kluth and Tamara Pollnow gave “yes” votes, while trustees Tom Christensen and Stephan Denman were against the proposal.

When both boards approved the agreement, it came with the caveat Village Attorney Marcy Hasenstab and Town Attorney Michael Dubis would make a few wordsmithing changes.

But the substantial nuts and bolts of the five-year agreement have been set in motion. Some of the highlights encapsulated within the document include:

• A preliminary plan by Police Chief Tom Ditscheit to promote four current part-time officers within the town’s force to full-time status to accommodate the additional need for staffing
• A clause stating one of the two municipalities needs to provide one year’s notice if the agreement is to terminate before the end of the five-year period
• A series of start-up expenses will be borne by the village, including purchasing a new squad, additional service weapons, Taser guns and uniforms
• If needed, both municipalities will jointly pay a binding arbitrator in the event a dispute arises from the agreement

Because of the fluid nature of the change, officials have been reluctant to stick to a concrete dollar amount, though Ditscheit at a special Village Board meeting on June 5 asserted the village would pay the town, on average, $509,012 for the arrangement.

That dollar figure, however, comes with a number of caveats and unknowns, including the level of experience of each officer hired to patrol the village and the outcome of the next police union contract. The current agreement expires midway through the town-village agreement.

Hasenstab cautioned the Village Board to be flexible as details come down the pipe.

“There’s always going to be a settle-up at the end of each year,” Hasenstab said. “We won’t know until then how much exactly this is going to cost.”

Throughout the debate, village officials have expressed mixed reaction to contacting with the town.

“I don’t like being pushed into things, and this to me seems like a rush job,” Christensen said.

But supporters, including Filut, said the agreement is the realization of a long-held hope the two communities could pool resources in certain instances.

“This is the beginning of something that has been hanging out there for years,” Filut said “This could be the start of working together and consolidating services in a number of areas. I just think we have to look forward.”