Minutes

MINUTES MEETING POLICE & FIRE COMMISSION BERLIN, WISCONSIN BERLIN CITY HALL – 2ND FLOOR COUNCIL CHAMBERS June 03, 2026 -6:30pm President Ron Ross called the meeting to order at 6:30pm. Present: Commissioners Morgan Monohan, Ron Ross, Gary Podoll, and Keith Hess. Seated virtually: Denise Krentz. Absent: None. Also present: Police Chief Brian Pulvermacher, Fire Chief Doug Dewhurst, liaison Hill, Mayor Burgess, City Admin Jesse Balcom, Erich Lueck, and Berlin Journal: Paul Weigel. Public appearance: None. Under sear virtual attendees, Hess motioned to seat Denise Krentz virtually. Ross seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. Under Fire Department new member Erich Lueck, Podoll motioned to approve the appointment of Erich Lueck to the Fire Department. Hess seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. Under approval of minutes, Hess moved to approve the open P&F Commission minutes of May 06, 2026. Podoll seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. Under residency requirements of Commission members, Krentz asked if anyone who sits outside of Berlin can be on the commission or is it limited to those who are within the district of Berlin? Balcom stated the ordinance does not dictate that and the WI statute states that they must be a citizen and not just of Berlin. The Counsel is looking to gain the thoughts of the commission as to your recommendation. You should determine if you would like it to say resident of Berlin or citizen so anyone could apply. Once you give your recommendation to the counsel, they would then either approve or deny it and make any necessary changes to the ordinance for your commission. The reason behind this ask is because some business owners who do not live here would like to sit on boards but can’t due to residency requirements. Right now, if someone would like to sit on the commission it would go through the application process, which goes through the mayor who would appoint with council’s approval or denial. Ross stated that he does not like going with someone who is outside of being a resident of the city of Berlin. This commission has optional powers so I would like for people who sit on here be from here. Krentz agreed and also stated that this commission has not had recruiting problems. Podoll stated that it should be a resident of the city of Berlin. You are dealing with two major aspects of the city, the fire and police department. These two departments deal with the residence of Berlin so those who sit on here should be resident of Berlin. Hess stated you are not talking about a business owner right. Podoll stated correct a resident. Hess stated he also agrees. Monohan stated that she goes back and forth. Ross stated that the commission has not had issue with filling positions but I can understand others needing that option to open it up. Podoll motioned to recommend to Common Counsel the it should be a resident of the city of Berlin to be on the Police and Fire Commission. Hess seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. Hess moved to approve the fire department expenses as presented. Ross seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. Under Fire Department reporting and updates Fire Chief Dewhurst explained there were 14 calls for last month, and 64 calls for the year. One fire call was a major house fire on Franklin Street. Maintenance issues, none. Upcoming events, we had the Memorial Day parade. Training, the department finished the first half of the fire inspections. There will also be a training on water movement. Podoll moved to approve the Police Department expenses as presented. Hess seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. Police Chief Pulvermacher stated that the chart provided to the commission shows last month’s calls. The chart shows that there were 153 traffic stops, 13 drug investigations, 12 welfare checks, 7 theft investigations, and 0 domestic abuse investigations. The chart indicates, traffic contacts have dipped a little below normal. Theft reports are higher than average with two being retail theft and two were package related. Under Police reporting and updates, Police Chief Pulvermacher explained two staff members attended the ceremony at the law enforcement memorial in Madison. Two staff members attended ARIDE training. We had firearms training in May and a make-up qualification for three of our staff members. We attended the Memorial Day parade which went well. One of our drug cases involved a search warrant and an ultimate arrest of a person who was selling methamphetamine within the city. We still have not heard back on the small rural tribal body worn camera grant. Under retirement of Police Chief Pulvermacher, the Mayor presented a plaque to Chief Pulvermacher for his years of service. The mayor thanked Chief for his many years of service and his dedication to the department. Commission also thanked the Chief for his service to the community and to the department. Chief thanked the commission for their support throughout the years. He stated that he truly thinks that the department is in a good place and will be okay with the next steps. Hess motioned to accept the retirement of Chief Pulvermacher. Ross seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. Under old business: None. Under new business: None. Podoll Motion to convene into closed session pursuant to Wis. Stat. Sec 19.85(1)(c), to consider employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility (1) Discussion on Interim Police Chief, and (2) Police Chief search) Ross seconded the motion A roll call vote resulted in five (5) ayes, zero (0) nays, and zero (0) absent. Motion carried. 7:38pm Hess motioned to convene into open session and take any appropriate action necessary as a result of closed session discussions. Monohan seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. Motion by Ross to appoint Assistant Chief Noah Knetzger to Interim Chief of Police effective June 28, 2026 with a 5% pay increase to his current pay while in Interim Chief status. Monohan seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. Ross motioned to post the police chief position with a due date to the City Administrator by July 10, 2026. Position will have a starting salary between $91,000-$101,000. Applications must include a cover letter, resume, a law enforcement application and at least 3 references. City administrator will handle the job posting. Hess seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. At 7:46pm Ross motioned to adjourn. Podoll seconded the motion which carried by voice vote. Submitted by Stephanie Skivers Administrative Assistant Next scheduled meeting will be Wednesday, July 1, 2026 at 6:30pm at the Berlin City Hall