HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Protection Committee 10-11-06 NOTICE OF MEETING AND AGENDA
PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 11, 2006
8:OOAM* *
ST. CROIX COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER
1101 CARMICHAEL ROAD
HUDSON, WISCONSIN
CALL TO ORDER
ROLL CALL
ADOPTION OF AGENDA
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING(S) — August 28 September 7th,
and September 20 * *, 2006
DATE OF NEXT MEETING — November 10, 2006 — 8:30am
OLD AND NEW BUSINESS
1. Attend Drug Court Proceedings at 8:00am in Courtroom # 1. Following the Drug
Court proceedings, the Public Protection Committee will reconvene in room 1281 for its
regular meeting (to begin at approximately 8:30am) **
2. Web Browser / Visions Update
3. Traffic Ticket Collections
4. Bills and Vouchers*
5. Budget 2007*
6. Medical Examiner — Casey Swetlik
a. Wisconsin Act 230
7. Child Support Administrator — Katy Kapaun
8. District Attorney Eric Johnson / Victim Witness Coordinator Ann Gustafson
9. Sheriff Dennis Hillstead, Chief Deputy Bob Klanderman, Patrol Captain John Shilts,
Jail Captain Karen Humphrey, Office Manager Mary Martell
a. Expenditures: Drug Fund/Confiscated Acct/Jail Assessment
b. Drug Court/Meth Committee /AODA
c. Constable Assistance, Supervisor Struemke **
10. Storage facility/Business Data Record Services (BDRS)*
ANNOUNCEMENTS & CORRESPONDENCE
ADJOURN
(Items may be taken in different order)
* These items will be heard by each Department
** Additions /Changes /Corrections
Submitted by:Julie Speer
Date: October 2, 2006
Copies to: County Board office News Media
County Clerk Committee Members
Respective Department Heads
Items for County Board approval must be submitted to the County Clerk's office
by Wednesday morning preceding a County Board meeting.
10/2/2006 4:54 PM
PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE MEETING
October 11, 2006
Unofficial
MEMBERS PRESENT: Julie Speer, Denise Gunderson, John Borup, Chuck Mehls and Tom
Dowd. Absent: None.
STAFF PRESENT: Sheriff Dennis Hillstead, Chief Deputy Bob Klanderman, Patrol Captain
John Shilts, Office Manager Mary Martell, Medical Examiner Casey Swetlik, Child Support
Director Katy Kapaun, District Attorney Eric Johnson, Office Manager Cathy Halverson and
Amy Geurkink.
OTHERS PRESENT: Bill Cranmer
Meeting called to order at 8:00am by Chairperson Speer. Motion by Borup, 2 by Mehls to
attend Drug Court proceedings. Carried unanimously.
Regular meeting called to order at 8:39am by Chairperson Speer. Next regular meeting will be
November 10 at 8:30am. The December meeting date remains undetermined; discussion
regarding coordinating a December meeting with the Finance Committee.
Motion by Mehls, 2 by Dowd to adopt the agenda. Carried unanimously.
Motion by Gunderson, 2' by Borup to approve the minutes of August 28 and September 7th,
2006. Carried unanimously. Motion by Dowd, 2nd by Borup to approve the minutes of
September 20, 2006. Carried unanimously.
Discussion regarding attending further drug court hearings.
MEDICAL EXAMINER'S REPORT: Swetlik presented September Medical Examiner bills in
the amount of $5,609.89 and clarified the expenses regarding organic respirators and disaster
preparation. Motion by Mehls, 2 by Gunderson to approve the bills as presented. Carried
unanimously.
Swetlik provided a budget status report and summarized revenues are higher, expenses are lower
and the budget remains in solid shape.
Swetlik reported the contract regarding WI Act 230 will be reviewed by Corporation Counsel.
Swetlik will bring forward the changes accordingly and has the understanding the contract will
need to be brought to the County Board for approval.
Swetlik provided a handout concerning the prescription drug Fentanyl and reported there has
been another death related to the drug. Swetlik reported he has contacted the St. Croix Valley
Pharmacy Association (which includes St. Croix, Dunn, Polk and Pierce counties) and is on its
November 14 agenda. Swetlik also reported he spoke with the Public Health Department
concerning its possible involvement. Discussion regarding educating the public of the dangers of
misuse of Fentanyl and educating the wrong population being a cause for concern. Discussion
regarding creating public awareness, providing information to area clinics, etc. and concerns
PUBLIC PROTECTION COMMITTEE MEETING
October 11, 2006
Unofficial
MEMBERS PRESENT: Julie Speer, Denise Gunderson, John Borup, Chuck Mehls and Tom
Dowd. Absent: None.
STAFF PRESENT: Sheriff Dennis Hillstead, Chief Deputy Bob Klanderman, Patrol Captain
John Shilts, Office Manager Mary Martell, Medical Examiner Casey Swetlik, Child Support
Director Katy Kapaun, District Attorney Eric Johnson, Office Manager Cathy Halverson and
Amy Geurkink.
OTHERS PRESENT: Bill Cranmer
Meeting called to order at 8:00am by Chairperson Speer. Motion by Borup, 2 by Mehls to
attend Drug Court proceedings. Carried unanimously.
Regular meeting called to order at 8:39am by Chairperson Speer. Next regular meeting will be
November 10 at 8:30am. The December meeting date remains undetermined; discussion
regarding coordinating a December meeting with the Finance Committee.
Motion by Mehls, 2 by Dowd to adopt the agenda. Carried unanimously.
Motion by Gunderson, 2' by Borup to approve the minutes of August 28 and September 7th,
2006. Carried unanimously. Motion by Dowd, 2nd by Borup to approve the minutes of
September 20, 2006. Carried unanimously.
Discussion regarding attending further drug court hearings.
MEDICAL EXAMINER'S REPORT: Swetlik presented September Medical Examiner bills in
the amount of $5,609.89 and clarified the expenses regarding organic respirators and disaster
preparation. Motion by Mehls, 2 by Gunderson to approve the bills as presented. Carried
unanimously.
Swetlik provided a budget status report and summarized revenues are higher, expenses are lower
and the budget remains in solid shape.
Swetlik reported the contract regarding WI Act 230 will be reviewed by Corporation Counsel.
Swetlik will bring forward the changes accordingly and has the understanding the contract will
need to be brought to the County Board for approval.
Swetlik provided a handout concerning the prescription drug Fentanyl and reported there has
been another death related to the drug. Swetlik reported he has contacted the St. Croix Valley
Pharmacy Association (which includes St. Croix, Dunn, Polk and Pierce counties) and is on its
November 14 agenda. Swetlik also reported he spoke with the Public Health Department
concerning its possible involvement. Discussion regarding educating the public of the dangers of
misuse of Fentanyl and educating the wrong population being a cause for concern. Discussion
regarding creating public awareness, providing information to area clinics, etc. and concerns
with the elderly population being targeted. Gunderson asked that Swetlik speak to the Meth
Advisory Committee. Discussion regarding the street value of Fentanyl.
CHILD SUPPORT REPORT: Child Support Director Katy Kapaun provided September bills
in the amount of $1,467.88 and reported there is nothing out of the ordinary. Kapaun clarified
the process service fees and indicated they have been satisfied with the Seven County Process
Servers, indicating the company is competitive, aggressive and familiar with child support
documentation. Motion by Gunderson, 2 °a by Dowd to approve the bills as presented. Carried
unanimously.
Kapaun provided a budget status report and indicated a couple areas are a bit high, but overall
the budget will come in on track. Kapaun also reported there could be a moderate jump in the
budget due to an unresolved position increase request. Kapaun reported she wants it resolved in
this budget cycle and indicated she is on the next Finance Committee agenda.
Kapaun reported collections exceeded eleven million dollars for the fiscal year. Discussion
regarding withholding of recreational licenses.
Kapaun reported St. Croix County will have an electronic system of deposit of all child support
payments that can be accessed with a debit card; JP Morgan Company will have the contract and
Kapaun explained it is a smooth method of collecting and dispersing funds.
Kapaun reported the state announced a summit to address the budget cuts at the federal level. St.
Croix County was asked to attend the summit. The state will pay lodging but the county needs to
provide transportation costs. Motion by Mehls, 2" a by Borup to approve the transportation costs
for Kapaun to attend the summit. Carried unanimously.
Kapaun reported on the Children First Program and reiterated it is an employment -in- training
program for non - custodial parents. Discussion regarding performing the program in -house
instead of through Workforce Connection. The committee supports Kapaun's plan and will
authorize to apply for the funds internally. However, the state may not agree and elect to remain
with Workforce Connections.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S REPORT: District Attorney Eric Johnson and Office Manager
Cathy Halverson presented September bills in the amount of $1,536.30. Johnson reported the
budget is fine overall and provided clarification on a few of the expenses. Brief discussion
regarding utilizing the rent -a -car program. Motion by Mehls, 2 nd by Borup to approve the bills
as presented. Carried unanimously.
Halverson provided clarification regarding the number of boxes sent to the storage facility thus
far and the 2007 budgeted amount for storage.
Discussion regarding the 2007 budget and the request to reduce the District Attorney budget by
$6400 in addition to what had already been slashed. Discussion regarding the 3/10 juvenile
prosecutor position and the need still being there. Discussion regarding what is being done in
other counties; some have the Corporation Counsel office provide the services. Discussion
regarding the Drug Court position and the money saved on incarceration costs.
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Discussion regarding physical evidence held for court cases and when it could be released.
Johnson reported the defense attorney(s) may object to the release of certain evidence and also
judges may not allow it in some cases. Discussion regarding photographing evidence and
attorneys having a particular amount of time to inspect the merchandise; discussion regarding
establishing a policy for this issue.
Johnson reported there is approximately $21,000 in the stop drug account, the amount stems
from a grant as well as generous donations from businesses and community.
Discussion regarding the success of the Drug Court program; Johnson reported there are three
factors to its success: motivated judges, resources and training. Johnson summarized the
program has come a long and is only going to get better. Discussion regarding the people
involved with the program and Judge Vlack's commitment and passion toward the program.
Cranmer inquired about the increase in the number of cases and expressed concern for Judge
Vlack's time for all cases. Discussion regarding the Drug Court Coordinator position assuming a
large amount of the work load. Discussion regarding the criteria for being accepted into the
Drug Court program and the time and intensiveness involved with the program. Gunderson
briefly explained the drug court steering committee.
SHERIFF'S REPORT: September bills were presented in the amount of $61,219.45. Motion
by Gunderson, 2' by Dowd to approve the bills as presented. Martell provided clarification
regarding Visionar payment and a line item transfer to 2006 and explained she is waiting to hear
from the Finance Department. Carried unanimously.
Martell provided an updated 2007 budget report. Hillstead reported total budget reductions
amount to approximately $400,000 from the initial request. Discussion the cuts are putting the
county on a backward trend and the public being made aware of the cuts. Klanderman reported
the funds cut from the budget for transports will be a factor, indicating there is no way they can
live with those cuts.
Hillstead reported there is no canine patrol at the moment but they are in the process of obtaining
a dog through the St. Paul Police Department. Discussion regarding the dogs being harder to
come by as they are in demand because of an increase in homeland security. Hillstead reported
the donations are coming in and he thinks the dog will come at no cost to the county.
Hillstead reported they busted a significant and rather large drug operation in the county and he
commended the drug investigators. Discussion regarding a child pornography case and how
advanced technology aided in busting the predator. Hillstead credits Shawn Demulling for the
excellent computer work involved.
Klanderman reported the department is currently paying approximately $2.18 per gallon for
gasoline.
Hillstead reported there were two traffic fatalities involved with an accident on I -94.
Discussion regarding retaining physical evidence for court cases, the time frame and storage
space involved with holding the evidence and at times it presents a hardship for the victims.
Hillstead reported they are recovering a lot more property and storage is a problem. Discussion
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regarding implementing a policy in which attorneys would have so many days to inspect and/or
photograph the evidence and then it would be released. Shilts reported it should be on court
documentation. Discussion some counties release evidence after the preliminary hearing.
Discussion regarding developing a policy to present to the judges.
Hillstead reported Shilts recently graduated from the FBI National Academy; stating it is a
feather in his cap as well as a benefit for the entire department. Martell reported she is full staff
again.
CONSTABLE POSITION: Hillstead reported the towns have control concerning the
Constable position. It is up to the individual town boards and most towns have eliminated the
position because of liability issues and the cost of maintaining. Hillstead reported there are no
Constables in St. Croix County that have law enforcement authority.
JAIL REPORT: September bills in the amount of $71,211.35 were presented. Motion by
Mehls, 2 nd by Borup to approve the bills as presented. Carried unanimously. Hillstead reported
Humphrey is currently attending a Jail Administrator's meeting.
Hillstead reported the contract to provide medical services is being reviewed by Corporation
Counsel. He reported the current nurse is outstanding, everything is done in a timely manner,
she has a great relationship with the staff and inmate complaints have dropped.
Discussion regarding the long term jail population is growing but the Huber population has not
increased as was initially indicated. Judges are not sentencing to Huber; deferred sentencing is a
factor.
STORAGE FACILITY: Discussion regarding the amount of boxes shipped to the storage
facility thus far. Discussion regarding estimating an amount for 2007 and the factors involved
(transfer fees, frequency and urgency of access, etc.). Discussion regarding the issue of security
and unsecured storage.
Discussion regarding addressing the Finance Committee concerning the storage issue and
making a presentation. Discussion regarding obtaining combined dollar amounts for all off -site
storage; discussion as to what property the county actually owns. Discussion regarding the funds
currently being put toward storage rental when it could be put toward a county -owned storage
facility.
TRAFFIC TICKET COLLECTION /OVER DUE FINES: Discussion regarding the
status /progress of this issue and the Finance Committee /Clerk of Court should be taking care of
it. Discussion regarding some of the money is not collectable.
Mehls commenced discussion regarding Eau Claire County collections and its tactics to obtain
the funds. Discussion regarding the manpower required for this; Cranmer commenced
discussion regarding having someone do the collections and budgeting for this person.
Discussion regarding the position in Eau Claire County paying for itself and visiting other county
success stories and borrowing their ideas.
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Discussion regarding this issue not being a priority to the Finance Committee. Cranmer
suggested another resolution to the Finance Committee and summarized that looking at revenue
is just as important as reviewing expenses.
Discussion regarding ignoring this issue is an insult to many, including taxpayers. Mehls
summarized he is extremely concerned about the collection procedure for over due fines and
fees.
Meeting adjourned at 11:44am
John Borup, Secretary
Amy Geurkink, Recording Secretary
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