March 24, 2017
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING
Douglas County Board of Supervisors
Thursday, March 30, 2017, 4:00 p.m., Courthouse Room 207C
1313 Belknap Street, Superior, Wisconsin
Please call the County Clerk’s Office (715-395-1569) if you are unable to attend.
MEMBERS: Samuel Pomush, Chair
Charlie Glazman
Rosemary Lear, Vice Chair
Alan Jaques
Marvin Finendale
AMENDED A G E N D A
(Committee to maintain a two-hour meeting limit or take action to continue meeting beyond that time).
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
ec:
Roll call.
Approval of the March 2, 2017, meeting minutes (attached).
Updates and reports (Information only - budget reports to be distributed; all
departments listed but may not have any additional reports):
a.
Child Support;
g.
Emergency Management;
b.
Circuit Court Branch I;
h.
Communications Center;
c.
Circuit Court Branch II;
i.
Medical Examiner;
d.
Clerk of Courts;
j.
Probate;
e.
Court Commissioner;
k.
Sheriff – Patrol Division; and
f.
District Attorney;
l.
Sheriff – Jail Division.
Action items/referrals:
a.
From Security and Facilities Committee: Funding for fobs for access to
emergency exits of courthouse by law enforcement (attached);
b.
Capital projects funding requests:
1.
Sheriff’s Department (attached); and
2.
Jail (attached).
c.
Resolution regarding state funding for Assistant District Attorneys (attached).
Informational: Drug crimes statistics – Douglas County (attached).
Future agenda items.
Adjournment.
County Board Supervisors
Kaci Lundgren(website)
Lisa Johnson
Keith Kesler
Andy Lisak
Tracy Ruppe
Michele Wick
Mark Fruehauf
Susan Sandvick
Carolyn Pierce
Kelly Thimm
Darrell Witt
Candy Holm-Anderson
Shelley Nelson
George Glonek
Jerry Moe
Jaime McMeekin
Tom Dalbec
Rebecca Lovejoy
Note: Attachments to agenda are available in County Clerk’s Office for review or copying, and are also available on the county’s
website www.douglascountywi.org. Action may be taken on any item listed on the agenda. The County of Douglas complies
with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If you are in need of any accommodation to participate in the public meeting
process, please contact the Douglas County Clerk’s Office at (715) 395-1341 by 4:00 p.m. on the day prior to the scheduled
meeting. Douglas County will attempt to accommodate any request, depending on the amount of notice we receive.
Posted: Courthouse, Government Center, Telegram copied.
03-24-17
Kaci Jo Lundgren
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING
Douglas County Board of Supervisors
Thursday, March 2, 2017, 4:00 p.m., Courthouse Room 207C
1313 Belknap Street, Superior, Wisconsin
Meeting called to order by Chair Samuel Pomush.
ROLL CALL: Present - Rosemary Lear, Charlie Glazman, Alan Jaques, Samuel Pomush.
Absent – Marvin Finendale. Others present – Jerry Moe, James Madden, Dan Corbin, Richard
Schnell, Lisa Johnson, Becky Severson, Darrell Witt, Rebecca Lovejoy, Jaime McMeekin, Tracy
Ruppe, Kelly Thimm, Tom Dalbec, Bob Galovich, Tyler Edwards, Keith Kesler, Michele Wick,
Mark Fruehauf, Pam Tafelski (Committee Clerk).
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Lear, second Jaques, to approve October 27, 2016,
meeting minutes. Motion carried.
UPDATES AND REPORTS: B udget reports attached/reviewed. Child Support - Johnson
introduced Child Support Deputy Becky Severson. Circuit Court Branch I - Court Reporter
hired; new chair pads approved. Clerk of Courts – Approved for e-filing; tax intercepts
activated; new hire starting. Court Commissioner –Work with D.A.’s office going well.
District Attorney – Transition smooth; April/May higher profile trials. Based on state
indicators, 3 full-time Assistant D.A.’s suggested for Douglas County’s caseload but not in state
budget. County has 1 full-time, a 0.9 and a 0.6; will lose the .9 if not moved to full-time (cost
$4,000). State has not approved the allocation; Fruehauf working with Finance Department on
ways to fund the $4,000 for remainder of this year.
Emergency
Management/Communications Center – Updates on 911 move to CenturyLink; Verizon tower
contract; short 1 dispatcher; statewide contract potential for 911 service fees on any device.
Medical Examiner – Potential new deputy withdrew; currently M.E. plus 2 deputies. Probate
– Juvenile cases doubled YTD with 2016. Sheriff – Patrol Division – Crime statistics reviewed;
property crimes stabilized; drug crimes increasing; internet crimes task force working well; new
canine in process. Sheriff – Jail Division – Jail maintenance schedule developing; restructuring
staff due to promotions; average 20 out-of-county inmates; meeting with St. Louis County to
renew contract for housing 12; ICE contract is for 72 hour holds. State versus federal inspection
schedules discussed.
ACTION (REFERRAL): Motion by Lear, second Jaques, to support increasing 0.9 Assistant
District Attorney position to full-time at estimated cost of $4,000 as one time funding for
remainder of 2017, and refer to Administration Committee for funding mechanism. Motion
carried.
ACTION ITEMS/REFERRALS: Emergency Management/Communications Center 2017
Capital Projects Funding Request – List of priorities and rationales attached/reviewed.
ACTION (REFERRAL): Motion by Glazman, second Jaques, to approve priorities #1 and #2
capital projects as presented and refer to County Administrator for review. Motion carried.
INFORMATIONAL: Referred from October 27, 2016, meeting:
Public Safety Committee
March 2, 2017
Page 1 of 2
Drug Crimes Ctatistics – Douglas County: Attached/reviewed. Dalbec explained how to
understand the Douglas County numbers as a border state and funding. May be good Superior
Days issue next year. Committee asked Dalbec to develop a narrative on the statistics and e-mail
to all County Board supervisors on behalf of Public Safety Committee.
Future Agenda Items: Resolution regarding state funding for Assistant D.A.; Sheriff capital
projects.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Lear, second Jaques, to adjourn. Motion carried. Adjourned at
4:50 p.m.
Submitted by,
Pamela A. Tafelski
Committee Clerk
Public Safety Committee
March 2, 2017
Page 2 of 2
DOUGLAS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
Mark A. Fruehauf, District Attorney
Richard E. Maes III,, Assistant District Attorney
Jennifer A. Bork, Assistant District Attorney
James J. Rennicke, Assistant District Attorney
1313 Belknap Street, Room 201
Superior, Wisconsin 54880
(715) 395-1218
Fax (715) 395-1481
March 18, 2017
TO:
FROM:
RE:
The Douglas County Board of Supervisors
Mark Fruehauf, District Attorney
Request for funding for Assistant District Attorney
I write to the Board respectfully requesting the allocation of $4,080.96, effective April 1, 2017.
This would represent the amount of gross pay required to bring the 0.9 Assistant District Attorney
position in my office to full-time, 1.0, starting on April 1, 2017, through the end of the calendar
year. I’ve confirmed that this number includes gross salary only and does not involve benefits.
In the alternative, if the Board is unable to approve this funding request, I request that the Board
approve a resolution in substantially the same form as this request to be forwarded to the Office of
State Prosecutors.
Background
The Douglas County District Attorney’s Office currently consists of the full time District
Attorney and 2.5 Assistant District Attorneys, which are state funded positions. The Assistant
District Attorneys (ADAs) are paid as follows:
James Rennicke
1.0
Jennifer Bork 0.9
Richard Maes
0.6
Last year, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office charged out 490 new felony files, 539
misdemeanor files, and 248 criminal traffic files. The District Attorney’s Office also processed
191 new juvenile delinquency and child protection matters referred by the Department of Health
and Human Services in 2016. These numbers do not include files currently open and pending
with the office, ordinance and traffic tickets, or uncharged/unreviewed warrant requests.
According to the latest estimates by the State of Wisconsin, even at full staff, this office is three
full time prosecutors short given the caseload it has to handle.
Basis for the request
For more than a decade, funding for assistant prosecutors has been lacking in Wisconsin. Raises
have been frozen and Wisconsin frequently loses good prosecutor talent to the private sector or
other states where the pay is better. That appears poised to change, as the Attorney General has
announced that several million dollars have been allocated for raises for ADAs and for the
potential creation of new positions. That may happen as early as next year. I am hopeful for, and
continue to lobby the State for, funding to create new positions here.
When the State announced years ago that 0.5 prosecutors or lower would no longer receive
benefits such as health insurance, one of the full time positions here was made a 0.9 to be able to
raise the half-time position to 0.6 to allow that position to maintain benefits. I am seeking to have
the county cover the 0.1 difference in order to make the 0.9 position fully funded again.
This is not without precedent, as many counties state-wide have county funded ADAs, often times
to specialize in certain areas such as drug prosecution or domestic violence prosecution. While
other counties sometimes create totally new 1.0 positions, I am respectfully requesting a nominal
amount of funding in an effort to keep a valued employee, Jennifer Bork, as well as have the
ability to attract an appropriate pool of applicants should the job need to be posted in the future.
Ms. Bork, despite being 0.9, does not work 36 hours a week. You will often find her at the office
late nights and on weekends putting in the time necessary to ensure this community receives the
public service from my office that it deserves. She currently has 12 jury trials pending between
now and the end of June; some of these include a child sexual assault trial currently scheduled to
last at least one week, an incident involving a person getting stabbed in the neck, and several
significant drug-delivery prosecutions involving large quantities of methamphetamine. She has,
at any given time, more than 200 cases pending on which she is the primary prosecutor.
I am aware that my office is one of many that is dealing with underfunding, and I am not one who
desired to start this job by coming to the Board with my hand out asking for funds. However,
having gotten my feet wet and having reviewed the landscape of cases that this office handles, I
believe the request is necessary to stave off an immediate short term problem. Ms. Bork, like
many law school graduates with debt and other expenses, needs full time employment. She is
currently attempting to seek that employment elsewhere and is getting interview requests. If I am
able to make her a full-time employee, I hope to be able to keep her for some time.
The primary counter-argument to this request that I have heard is that this sets a bad precedent
and this request should be rejected out of principle, as it would be the county picking up the tab
for what the state should be paying. I understand and respect this position; those people are
correct in saying that the state needs to step up to pay its prosecutors. I continue my efforts as a
new DA to lobby the State for these funds and am hopeful that I will be rewarded for my efforts
in the future. Despite the foregoing, if I do not get the funding I request, I expect that sooner or
later (likely sooner), Ms. Bork, a prosecutor with 6 years’ experience, will secure full-time
employment elsewhere. I assure the members of the board that if that happens, we will pay for
the consequences of that to the tune of a number that far exceeds $4,000.
I was extremely fortunate to hire Mr. Rennicke, former Rusk County District Attorney, with more
than 25 years of experience, in January of 2017. When that job opening was posted the first week
of December, the number of outside applicants was four. Two of these applicants were not
ideally qualified for the position. The other two applicants were District Attorneys from other
counties, including Mr. Rennicke, who had lost re-election bids this past year. If the time comes
to post this position for application, at less than full time, for a new hiring in the coming months,
those recently ousted District Attorneys will not be among the tiny applicant pool I can expect to
get, and I will be extremely unlikely to receive applicants as qualified as Ms. Bork, resulting in a
thinner amount of prosecutors in this office able to handle serious and major felony cases.
I know that money does not grow on trees and that this Board must wisely choose how to spend
the limited dollars that we have. I respectfully submit that approving this request would be a very
good short term investment to ensure that this community will continue to receive top quality
service from this office that will help keep this community safe.
I thank the Board for its consideration and am able to provide additional information if requested.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
1316 N. 14th Street • Suite 100 • Superior, Wisconsin 54880
2016 Annual Statistical Report
Usually, when the news media or others talk about Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and crime rates
going up or down, they are referring to the following eight Part I crimes (also referred to as “index
crimes”). These are counted as reported to police:
Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Part I Index Crimes
200
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
AggAssault
Arson
Burglary
Homicide
M/V Theft
Rape
Robbery
Theft
2013
5
0
173
0
20
3
3
178
2014
7
0
91
0
18
3
1
162
2015
7
0
125
0
18
4
1
109
2016
10
0
70
0
22
7
1
114
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
1316 N. 14th Street • Suite 100 • Superior, Wisconsin 54880
The Uniform Crime Reporting Program gathers only arrest data (as opposed to reported) for Part II
Crimes. These crimes include just about all crimes other than the Part I offenses listed above:
Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Part II Crimes
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Disorderly
Drug
Conduct Offenses
D.U.I.
Fraud/For
gery
Liquor
Laws
Family
Offenses
Sex
Offenses
Simple
Assault
Vandalism
Weapons
Offense
2013
30
78
59
3
18
7
6
25
8
5
2014
34
95
52
13
17
26
4
38
14
9
2015
47
53
54
5
7
30
5
35
12
4
2016
48
54
49
5
3
15
5
34
12
3
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
1316 N. 14th Street • Suite 100 • Superior, Wisconsin 54880
Statistics not included in UCR Data:
Traffic Crashes
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Property
Damage
Car-Animal
CarPedestrian
Injury
Number
Injured
Fatality
Number
Killed
Alc/Drug
Related
Total
Crashes
2013
82
72
1
57
66
4
5
12
262
2014
80
72
0
45
57
5
5
23
266
2015
86
60
2
56
88
2
2
23
234
2016
82
75
0
58
90
1
1
15
257
Traffic Citations
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Traffic Stops*
2013
Drivers License
Violations
Equipment
Violations
Moving Violations
Registration
Violations
Total Traffic
Citations
151
43
356
49
555
2014
936
120
17
236
44
492
2015
957
102
17
324
36
547
2016
649
88
16
246
22
421
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
1316 N. 14th Street • Suite 100 • Superior, Wisconsin 54880
Miscellaneous Calls For Service
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Propert Suspicio
Animal Attempt
Incompl
Ambula
Car in Check
Motoris
y
us
Alarm
Complai
to
ete 911
nce Call
Ditch Welfare
t Assist Retrieva Pers/Cir
nt
Locate
Call
l
c/Veh
2013
179
103
179
117
2014
178
114
191
136
2015
197
94
252
2016
205
80
227
Traffic
Unwant
Proble Trespas
ed
m/Com
s
Guest
plaint
139
42
300
45
439
371
40
43
197
131
37
271
56
434
370
49
47
187
136
146
74
219
53
402
310
48
31
188
209
167
48
237
47
348
275
46
26
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
1316 N. 14th Street • Suite 100 • Superior, Wisconsin 54880
Total Incident Numbers Generated *
6200
6100
6000
5900
5800
5700
5600
5500
5400
5300
5200
Total Incidents
2013
6128
2014
6043
2015
5925
2016
5524
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
1316 N. 14th Street • Suite 100 • Superior, Wisconsin 54880
Douglas County Jail
Average Daily Population
186
184
182
180
178
176
174
172
170
168
166
Average Daily Population
2014
172
2015
173
2016
184
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
1316 N. 14th Street • Suite 100 • Superior, Wisconsin 54880
Website Statistics
Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
1316 N. 14th Street • Suite 100 • Superior, Wisconsin 54880