Everest Metro Police Joint Finance Committee

Meeting Minutes of Joint Meeting of the Everest Metropolitan Police Department Joint Finance Committee and the Everest Metro Municipal Court Finance Committee, dated 05/24/2022 Present: Mark Maloney – Village President; Village of Weston Denny Richmond – Alderman; City of Schofield Kari Carroll – Alderman; City of Schofield Kregg Hoehn – Mayor; City of Schofield Jasper Hartinger – Trustee; Village of Weston Jamie Weiland – Trustee; Village of Weston Clay Schulz- EMPD Police Chief Becca Szews– EMPD Administrative Assistant Nicholas Aldrich – EMPD Captain Kris Weirauch – EMMC Judge Absent: Milt Olson – Chairman; Town of Weston I. CALL TO ORDER A. President Maloney opened the meeting at 1600 hrs. Roll call. B. Chief Schulz explained the pay increase verbiage for Chief Schulz was added to the October 5, 2021 minutes after the draft was created and sent to the Village of Weston for payroll processing, but prior to the approval of those minutes. An email was included from President Maloney explaining the pay increase that should have been in effect for Chief Schulz, dated January of 2022. Approval of minutes of meeting held October 5, 2021 EMPD and EMMC Joint Finance Committee meeting. *M/S/P Hoehn / Carroll II. NEW BUSINESS – EMMC A. A discussion took place regarding opening the Municipal Court Lobby, which has been closed throughout the Covid-19 Pandemic. Judge Weirauch explained that it has been approved that court appearances can be virtual by the District Court Administrator. This approval will need to be requested again at the end of June. The approval for virtual court is contingent on the CDC’s count of Covid-19 cases in Marathon County. It was suggested by President Maloney that the lobby of the Municipal Court still be open during this time to improve customer service, while requiring masks be worn while in the Municipal building. This was a discussion only and no approval was requested or made. III. NEW BUSINESS – EMPD A. Chief Schulz discussed the possible approval of Amendment 1 of the Everest Metro Public Safety Agreement. It was explained that the Amendment was a modification to the existing Everest Metro Public Safety Agreement. Some of those changes include recommendations given by Attorney Shane VanderWaal. A motion was made to approve Amendment 1 of the Everest Metro Public Safety Agreement. *M/S/P Hoehn / Richmond B. Chief Schulz discussed the possible approval to expend a portion of the assigned American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to EMPD. Chief Schulz provided 2 proposals for ARPA funds being distributed. Proposal 1 included the purchase of (1) police squad and all itemized equipment, and a premium pay of $1,000 to all Everest Metro personnel of $33,000 for working through the Covid-19 Pandemic. Proposal 2 included the purchase of (1) police squad and all itemized equipment, and a premium pay of $2,000 to all Everest Metro personnel of $66,000. The total ARPA funds allotted to Everest Metro include the following contributions; Town of Weston - $6,635, City of Schofield -  $26,000, Village of Weston - $220,000. Chief Schulz also discussed that Evers passed a bill to include additional funds from the State, in the amount of $54,000. However, there has not been any regulations released outlining how or when these funds can be used. A motion was made to approve the expending of a portion of the ARPA funds to EMPD to include Proposal 2, which is the purchase of (1) police squad and all itemized equipment, and a premium pay of $2,000 to all Everest Metro personnel in the amount of $66,000. *M/S/P Hoehn / Hartinger C. Chief Schulz discussed the possible approval for a salary adjustment for the Administrative Assistant position. President Maloney suggested a salary of $63,000, which mirrors the starting salary of the Village Clerk’s open position. A motion was made to approve the salary adjustment for the Administrative Assistant position to be an increase of $10,000. *M/S/P Richmond / Weiland Trustee Weiland asked to clarify if the committee approved the increase to be $10,000 or for the wages to be set at $63,000, as those differ. Richmond made a motion to amend his original motion to reflect the Administrative Assistant position salary adjustment to be $63,000. *M/S/P Richmond / Weiland D. Chief Schulz gave an update on the 2022 Budget status. Overall the budget is doing well, with small items being overspent, but overall the budget was doing well. It was expressed that the Gas / Oil line item will be difficult to estimate for the end of the year. IV. CHIEF’S REPORT – A. Department updates – the 2021 audit was finally finished and a near future Joint Finance Meeting will be schedules to approve the 2021 Audit. With the staffing gaps of 2021, there was an excess of funds that were not used. V. COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS: VI. DATE FOR NEXT MEETING: TBD VII. ADJOURN: Meeting was adjourned 17:07 hrs. *M/S/P Richmond / Hartinger