Fire & Police Commission

FIRE & POLICE COMMISSION MEETING –Minutes Village of Hales Corners, WI December 16, 2025 5635 S. New Berlin Road President Schwartz called the meeting to order at 6:32 PM. 1.0 Roll Call – Present: President Schwartz, Commissioners; Dzick, Mixon, Smyczek and Trustee Liaison Riemer. Staff Present: Police Chief Cera, Fire Chief Jaskulski, Fire Captain Gardner and Police Lieutenant Jacobi. Audience present: Village President Besson and Trustee Bennett. 2.0 Approval of Minutes 2.1 September 16, 2025 Minutes – Motion (Dzick/Smyczek) to approve. Motion passed 4-0-1 2.2 December 2, 2025 Minutes – Motion (Smyczek/Mixon) to approve. Motion passed 4-0-1 3.0 General Business 3.1 Chiefs’ Reports 3.1.1 Fire Department Report – Jaskulski presented as submitted and added the Hale House Fire and receipt of the new Engine as significant events this year. 3.1.2 Police Department Report – Cera presented as submitted emphasizing the need to stay ahead of staffing shortages. 3.2 Action Items 3.2.1 Appointment of Police Officer – A motion was made (Dzick/Smyczek) to approve the appointment of P. Kiesling to the position of Police Officer subject to a one year probationary period. Motion passed 4-0-1. 3.2.2 Appointment of Police Officer – A motion was made (Smyczek/Dzick) to approve the appointment of A. Saxe to the position of Police Officer subject to a probationary period ending one year from the successful completion of Police recruit Training. Motion passed 4-0-1. 3.3 Succession Planning 3.3.1 Fire Chief Promotional Process Timeline – Jaskulski stated the process should commence as soon as possible. Mixon advised that if only one candidate applies she wouldn’t be comfortable with the process. Schwartz indicated that assertion raises the question if an external posting would be necessary. Smyczek provided copious background information on previous Fire Chief processes. Jaskulski provided details on the abject failure of the last external process. Dzick explained that those experiences identified the need for and drove the succession program which produced the great candidates for the Police Chief process which just successfully resolved and will undoubtedly do the same for the Fire Chief process. Dzick strongly recommended continuing with the current plan. Smyczek concurred indicating that he has confidence in the succession program and Chief Jaskulski’s recommendations for potential candidates. Mixon stated that based upon the discussion she was okay with staying with the succession plan. Schwartz asked of the liaison if there were any budgetary considerations the Commission needed to consider when developing the process timeline. Besson advised the Commission need only to concern themselves with the Page 1 of 2 FPC – December 16, 2025  selection process and recommending a candidate as all other aspects are the responsibility of the Board. Mixon volunteered as scribe for the formulation of the Fire Chief oral interview questions which will commence in January. Commission concurred. 3.4 Review of Commission Officer Roles 3.4.1 President 3.4.2 Secretary – Chief Cera reviewed the current Commission by-laws which detail the roles and responsibilities of the officer positions. He also pointed out that, although not effecting the officer roles dramatically as written, the last adopted version pre-dates the removal of optional powers. Suggested changes to the by-laws were made with a recommendation to formally adopt properly revised by-laws at the next meeting. Schwartz confirmed that officer elections should be held at the January meeting. 4.0 Scheduling 4.1 Set: Date, Time and Location of next regular meeting - Meeting date set for Tuesday, January 13, 2026 at 6:30 PM at the Hales Corners Firehouse. 5.0 Adjournment - Motion (Smyczek/Mixon) to adjourn at 7:11 PM. Motion passed 4-0-1. Prepared by: Eric R. Cera, Police Chief Page 2 of 2 FPC – December 16, 2025