July 2026 Meeting of the Police and Fire Commission

Police and Fire Commission Meeting July 13, 2026 6:30 PM River Falls City Hall Council Chambers 222 Lewis Street River Falls, WI Police Fire POLICE & FIRE COMMISSION MEETING July 13, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. City Hall Council Chambers 222 Lewis Street River Falls, WI 54022 NOTE: OFFICIAL ACTION MAY BE TAKEN ON ANY AGENDA ITEM Agenda Call Meeting to Order Roll Call Approval of Minutes: June 1, 2026 Regular Meeting 1) Establish Patrol Officer Eligibility List 2) Appointments from Patrol Officer Eligibility List 3) Authorization to create a new Police Officer Eligibility List Adjournment Council members may be in attendance for informational purposes only. No official Council action will be taken. NOTE: Any person who has a qualifying disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act that requires the meeting or materials to be in an accessible location or format may contact City Clerk Amy White at (715) -426-3408 or in person at 222 Lewis Stree t for accommodations. Requests for accommodations should be made at least three (3) business days in advance of the meeting. Every effort will be made to arrange accommodations. Posted: July 7, 2026 at 4:00 pm POLICE & FIRE COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES June 1, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. City Hall Council Chambers 222 Lewis Street River Falls, WI Commission President Austin called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Commission Members Present: Lenny Austin, Gary Donath, Tom Gunderson, Jon Longsdorf Commission Members Absent: Dick Rinehart Staff Present: Gordon Young Approval of Minutes: Regular Meeting Minutes from January 5, 2026. MSC Gunderson/Donath. Unanimous. 1) Election of President of Police & Fire Commission Gunderson nominated Lenny Austin for another term as president of the Police and Fire Commission. Austin accepted the nomination. MSC Gunderson/Longsdorf elect Austin as President of the Police & Fire Commission. Unanimous 2) Election of Vice President of Police & Fire Commission Austin nominated Tom Gunderson for another term as vice-president of the Police and Fire Commission. MSC Austin/Donath to elect Tom Gunderson as Vice President of the Police & Fire Commission. Unanimous 3) Action on Removal from Probation for Officer Hannah Olson (effective May 31, 2026) Chief Young shared background for Officer Olson and indicated she has shown herself to be an asset to the department, managing a heavy call load, multi-tasking from call to call without falling behind. Chief Young also shared some short-term goals Officer Olson has shared. Chief Young requested Officer Olson be removed from probation and placed into Class 1 effective May 31, 2026. MSC Gunderson/Donath to remove Officer Hannah Olson from Probationary status effective May 31, 2026. Unanimous. 4) Establish Patrol Officer Eligibility List Chief Young shared a memo with a list containing ten (10) names, five (5) candidates that met the minimum criteria according to the rules established by the Commission. He requested a Patrol Officer Eligibility List be created with the names therein. This list reflects efforts from April and May of 2026. Chief Young asked Commissioner Longsdorf if Ethan Longsdorf, listed on the eligibility list, is a direct relation. Commissioner Longsdorf advised he is not aware of a close familial link, so there is no conflict of interest with his vote. MSC Donath/Longsdorf to establish the Patrol Officer Eligibility List with the five (5) names. Unanimous 5) Appointments from Patrol Officer Eligibility List Chief Young thanked the commission for establishing the eligibility list. He then recommended the appointment from the list for both Charles Dixon and Alexander Guerrero. Chief Young indicated the candidates will have to successfully complete our background investigation and outlined that any offer to hire is conditional on successfully completing HR hiring requirements. Chief Young provided a brief history of both candidates. Dixon lives in Hudson and is a graduate of both River Falls High School and UW-River Falls with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He currently works in the construction field. If approved, he will need to attend CVTC Law Enforcement Academy in the fall. Guerrero is a graduate of from Mt. Diablo (CA) High School and attended Diablo Valley College and Chippewa Valley Community College. He has more than the required college credits to meet the State’s minimum college credit requirements to be a law enforcement officer. He has served active duty with the United States Army and completed his service with an E-5 Sergeant rank. If approved, he will need to attend CVTC Law Enforcement Academy in the fall. Vice-President Gunderson stated both left impressions in the interviews and believes their life experience will aid them in serving our community. MSC Gunderson/Donath appointing Charles Dixon and Alexander Guerrero from the Patrol Officer Eligibility List. 6) Authorization to create a new Police Officer Eligibility List Chief Young provided a staffing update to the Commission and stated he would like to continue the search to find the right fit. Chief Young explained the remaining candidates do not fit what River Falls Police Department is looking for at this time, that we continue to look for candidates that are the best of the best. He respectfully requested authorization to continue looking for an additional candidate. Agency would like to discontinue the list just established after hiring the top two candidates, listed above. He expressed gratitude to the City Administration for temporarily allowing the department to hire above the department’s staffing threshold of 27 sworn officers to allow for potential future staffing changes. MSC Donath/Longsdorf to authorize a process to create a new Police Officer Eligibility List. Unanimous. 7) Update to Police Department Rules of Procedure – Add Article 11 Chief Young requested approval to the addition of Article 11 updating the Police & Fire Commission Police Department Rules for Annual Police Officer of the Year and Citizen of the Year Awards. He indicated this year was the first year we tried this and brought both police and fire departments together in front of the City Council. It went very well and would like to establish this as a rule going forward. MSC Gunderson/Donath to update Police and Fire Commission Police Department Rules of Procedure to add Article 11. Unanimous. 8) Update to Fire Department Rules of Procedure - Add Article 8 Chief Young requested approval to the addition of Article 8 updating the Police & Fire Commission Fire Department Rules for Annual Firefighter of the Year and Citizen of the Year Awards, similarly to what is being done with the Police Department Rules of Procedure. He indicated that it is possible that each department may have a separate citizen to whom they believe should be honored as Citizen of the Year, and this rule updated allows the Police & Fire Commission the ability to honor these individuals for their support and actions. MSC Donath/Longsdorf to update Police and Fire Commission Fire Department Rules of Procedure to add Article 8. Unanimous. 9) Annual Police & Fire Commission Review Chief Young provided an overview of the Duties of the Police and Fire Commission. Adjournment: MSC Gunderson/Donath. Unanimous. Meeting adjourned at 7:01 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Ailene Splittgerber Recording Secretary