Law Enforcement & Em Services

Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee December 15, 2023 3rd Floor Meeting Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 8:30 am by Lynn Rosemeyer. Members Present: Lynn Rosemeyer, Catherine Lemke, Charles Zenner, Lorie Floyd, Ray Soper (via phone call), and Jim Metz. Members Absent: None. Other Attendees: Christina Schuld , Larry Woebbeking , Larry Brandl (Finance) , Dan G ellert (E.M.), Nicole Hager (Human R esources), Andria Farrand (County Clerk), Courtney Graff (Corp Counsel), Bob Kirkley (Ambulance), and Brian Wilson (Star News). Approve Minutes: Zenner moved to a pprove the minutes of the November 10 and 17 , 2023 meetings; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Floyd moved to approve the agenda with 14 items; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Set Next Meeting Day: Tentatively set for January 12 at 9:00 am. Review and A pprove November Expenses and Revenue Reports : Expense reports and revenue spreadsheet s were emailed pr ior to the meeting. No discussion. Zenner moved to approve the November expenses and revenue reports as prese nted; Se conded by Lemke. Motion carried. Public Comments: None. Medical Examiner: Report was emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Emergency M anagement Servi ces: Gellert provided a handout with a brief summa ry o f updates. o Gellert stated they are waiting for one (1) towns hip to respond with estimated damage costs, will be approx. $110,000 for Taylor County. The State ran out of money and things are on hold pending more funding. o Gellert stated the EOC is slowly taking sh ape. The Health Dept. ha s helped with grants for furniture. o Taylor County has been approved by the S tate for a Storm Ready Grant and will be recognized at the next County Board meeting in January 2024. Sheriff’s Report & Law Enforcement Business: Woebbeking gave a brief update. a) Updates: Woebbeking stated there are currently 55 inmates, with 24 from Marathon County and 4 from Price County . Woebbeking also stated the health care medical contract for next year is going up $30,000 for 2024. b) Job Description for Jail Nurse : The job description was emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Zenner moved to approve the job description for jail nurse as presented; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. c) Request to Fill Jail Nurse Position : Woebbeking stated he is still waiting for an estimate from the medical service company but no response yet. He requested to fill the jail nurse position in the meantime to keep the process moving. He has also spoken with the Health Dept about the possibility of sharing the nurse position. More details would have to be d iscussed. Floyd moved to approve filling the jail nurse po sition as requested; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. d) Request to Change County Chapter 3: Changes to County Chapter 3 were emailed prior to the meeting. The wording for the Committee to be present during interviews for Deputy Sheriff were struck. Floyd moved to approve the changes to County Chapter 3 as presented; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. e) Request to Fill Deputy Sheriff Position: Woebbeking stated he received a resignation from on e (1) of the deputies this week and requested to fill the upcoming vacancy. Lemke moved to approve filling the upcoming vacancy of Deputy Sheriff as requested; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Ambulance Business: Bob Kirkley gave a brief update. He gave the number of transports and non-transports for the month of November for a total of 101 ambulance calls. He also gave an update on the staffing number s for November. Kirkley gave a brief financial breakdown of operating expenses and revenues. He also stated there were two (2) re signations of occasional staff. The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee may go into Closed Session by taking a roll call vote a t approx imately 9:45 a.m. pursuant to Section 19.85(1) (e), Wisconsin State Statutes, for the purpose of conductin g public business with competitive or bargaining implications (topic: to discuss the on-going negotiations of a con tract for emergency services (amb ulance)). No action will be taken in closed session. T he Closed Session is expected to last for approximately 45 minutes. Zenner moved to go into closed session; Seconded by Floyd. Roll call v ote taken: YES – Rosemeyer, Floyd, Zenner, Lemke, and Soper. NO – none. Motion carried. Closed se ssion started at 9: 03 am. Zenner moved to go back into open session; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. The meeting will reconvene in Open Session pursuan t to Section 19.83, Wiscon sin State Statutes, to take any necessar y action on the matter discuss ed in Closed Session. Open session resumed at 9:53 am. No action was taken. Ambulance Contract: Zenner moved to approve the ambulance contract pending legal review; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Adjourn: With no further business, Lemke moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:54 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee November 17, 2023 Ground Floor Sheriff’s Training Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lynn Rosemeyer. Members Present: Lynn Rosemeyer, Catherine Lemke, Charles Zenner, Lorie Floyd, Ray Soper, and Mike Bub. Members Absent: None Other Attendees: Christina Schuld , Larry Brandl (Finance) , Dan G ellert (E.M.), Bob Kir kley (Ambulance), Courtney Graff (Corp Counsel), and Sue Swiantek. Approve Agenda: Zenner moved to approve the agenda with 5 items; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee may go into Closed Session by taking a roll call vote a t approx imately 9:00 a.m. pursuant to Section 19.85(1) (e), Wisconsin State Statutes, for the purpose of conductin g public business with competitive or bargaining implications (topic: to discuss the on-going negotiations of a contract for emergency services (amb ulance)). No action will be taken in closed session. T he Closed Session is expected to last for approximately 60 minutes. Soper moved to go into closed session; Seconded by Lemke. Roll call v ote taken: YES – Rosemeyer, Soper, Lemke, Zenner, and Floyd. NO – none. Motion carried. Closed session started at 9:03 am. Soper moved to go back into open session; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. The meeting will reconvene in Open Session pursuan t to Section 19.83, Wisconsin S tate Statutes, to take any necessar y action on the matter discuss ed in Closed Session. Open session re sumed at 1 0:17 am. A b rief d iscussion was held regarding the current method of contacting personnel to fill open shifts. No action was taken. Adjourn: With no further business, Soper moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee November 10, 2023 Ground Floor Sheriff’s Training Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lynn Rosemeyer. Members Present: Lynn Rosemeyer, Catherine Lemke, Charles Zenner, Lorie Floyd, Ray Soper, and Mike Bub. Members Absent: None. Other Attendees: Christina Schuld, Larry Woebbeking, Corey Dassow, Larry Brandl (Finance) , Dan Gellert (E.M.), Nicole Hager (Human Resources), Bob Kirkley (Ambulance), and Matt Krueger (Star News). Approve Minutes: Zenner moved to a pprove the minutes of the October 13, 2023 meeting; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Approve Minutes of October 19, 2023 Ambulance Negotiations Meeting : Floyd moved to approve the minutes of the October 19, 2023 meeting; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Soper moved to approve the agenda with 16 items; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Set Next Meeting Day: Call of the Chairman; tentatively set for December 8. Review and Approve October Expenses and Revenue Reports: Expense reports and revenue spreadsheets were emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Zenner moved to approve the October expenses and revenue reports as presented; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Public Comments: None. Medical Examiner: No report was provided. Emergency M anagement Servi ces: Gellert provided a handout with a brief summa ry o f updates. No discussion. Sheriff’s Report & Law Enforcement Business: Woebbeking gave a brief update. o Woebbeking stated there are currently 46 inmates, with 15 from Marathon County and 4 from Price County. o Woebbeking stated the jail nurse will be su bmitting an official letter of resignation today. He s tated the position will nee d to be refilled or we would have to work with the Medical Co ntract Provider for nurse services, which would probably cost more than filling the position. Woebbeking stated he would reach out for an estimate. This will be added to the agenda for the next meeting. o Woebbeking stated the s teamer (sanitizer) in the jail kitchen has been replaced. The cost was approx. $24,770. o Woebbeking stated the door system com puter in the jail will be replaced next week Tuesday. o As of right now, the jail is fully staffed but a vacancy is expected by the end of December. o Woebbeking noted by St ate Statute deputy position applicants need to be interviewed by not necessarily by the Law Enfo rcement Committee. Woebbeking asked the Committee if they wanted to continue this process or have the County Code changed to remove the Committee from the interviews. The consensus of the Committee was to have the Sheriff and Human Resources conduct the interviews and the Committee was not needed. Hager from H.R. will make the appropriate changes and present them at the next meeting. Ambulance Business: Bob Kirkley gave a brief update. He gave the number of transports and non-transports for the month of October for a total of 101 am bulance calls. He also gave an update on the staffing numbers for October. He did not h ave any financials to present. There was a question about the status of the old a mbulance unit for sale. Kirkley stated the Aspirus financial program was updated and not on line yet but as soon as that was complete, the sale will go through. The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee may go into Closed Session by taking a roll call vote a t approx imately 9:45 a.m. pursuant to Section 19.85(1) (e), Wisconsin State Statutes, for the purpose of conductin g public business with competitive or bargaining implications (topic: to discuss the on-going negotiations of a contract for emergency services (amb ulance)). No action will be taken in closed session. T he Closed Session is expected to last for approximately 45 minutes. Lemke moved to go into closed session; Seconded by Floyd. Roll call v ote taken: YES – Zenner, Lemke, Rosemeyer, Soper, and Floyd. NO – none. Motion carried. Closed se ssion started at 9: 20 am. Lemke moved to go back into open session; Seconded by Soper. Motion carried. The meeting will reconvene in Open Session pursuan t to Section 19.83, Wisconsin S tate Statutes, to take any necessar y action on the matter discuss ed in Closed Session. Open session resumed at 10:21 am. No action was taken. A meeting was scheduled for November 17, 2023 at 9:00 am for further negotiations. The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee may go into Closed Session by taking a roll call vote at approximately 10: 30 a.m. pursu ant to Sec tion 19.85(1)(c), Wisconsin State Statutes, fo r the purpose of conducting interviews for Deputy Sheriff position. The Closed Session is expected to last for approximately 3 hours: Soper moved to go into closed session; Seconded by Floyd. Roll call vote taken: YES – Zenner, Lemke, Rosemeyer, Soper, and Floyd. NO – none. Motion carried. Closed session star ted at 10:24 am. Zenner moved to go back into open session; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. The meeting will reconvene in Open Session pursuant to Section 19.83, Wisconsin State Statutes, to take any necessary action on the matter discussed in Closed Session. Open session resumed at 11:53 am. No discussion or action taken. Adjourn: With no further business, Lemke moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:53 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office AMBULANCE NEGOTIATIONS Thursday, October 19, 2023 Sheriff’s Training Room Members Present: Daniel Gellert, Lorie Floyd, Mike Bub, Lynn Rosemeyer, Catherine Lemke Members Absent: none. Other Attendees: Lynn Rosemeyer, Mike Bub, Sue Swiantek, Courtney Graff, Bob Kirkley Call Meeting to Order: Rosemeyer called the meeting to order at 11:32 a.m. Approve Agenda: Motion by Bub, seconded by Mildbrand, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. The committee may go into closed session pursuant to Wis. Stat. 19. 85(1)(e) for purposes of conducting public business with competitive or bargaining implications (topic: on - going negotiations of a contract for emergency services). No action will be taken in closed session: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Lemke , to go into closed session at 11:34 a.m. A roll call vote was taken, all voting aye, motion carried. The committee will reconvene in open session and may take action approving the proposal of a contract: Motion by Floyd, seconded by Lemke to go back into open session. A roll call vote was taken, all voting aye, motion carried. Adjourn: Motion by Lemke, seconded by Floyd to adjourn. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 12:20 p.m. Joint Meeting of the Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee and Executive Committee October 13, 2023 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lynn Rosemeyer. Members Present: Lynn Rosemeyer, Catherine Lemke, Charles Zenner, Lorie Floyd, Mike Bub and Jim Metz. Members Absent: Ray Soper and Scott Mildbrand. Other Attendees: Christina Schuld, Larry Woebbeking, Corey Dassow, Larry Brandl (Finance) , Courtney Graff (Corp Counsel), Dan Gellert (E.M.), Nicole Hager (Human Resources), Bob Kirkley (Ambulance), Brian Wilson (Star News), Chad Kowalczyk, and Liza Barth. Approve Minutes: Zenner moved to a pprove the minutes of the September 08 & 13 , 2023 meetings; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Lemke moved to approve the agenda with 15 items; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Set Next Meeting Day: Call of the Chairman; tentatively set for November 10. Review and A pprove September Expenses and Revenue Reports : Expense reports and revenue spreadsheet s were emailed pr ior to the meeting. No discussion. Zenner moved to approve the September expenses and revenue reports as prese nted; Se conded by Lemke. Motion carried. Public Comments: None. Medical Examiner: Report was emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Emergency Management Services: Report was emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Sheriff’s Report & Law Enforcement Business: Woebbeking gave a brief update. a) Updates: o Woebbeking stated there are currently 47 inmates, with 19 from Marathon County. o Woebbeking stated the steamer (sanitiz er) in the jail kitchen needed to be replaced. It will cost approx. $25,000 and was ordered. b) Acknowledgement of Years of Service to Chad Kowalczyk and Liza Barth: o Chief Deputy Corey Dassow presented both Chad Kowalczyk and Liza Barth with personalized badges for their 15 years of service to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office. Ambulance Business: Bob Kirkley gave a brief update on the ambulance staffing. He stated a local super visor started on October 1, 20 23 and a new on -call occasional m ember will be starting in 2-3 weeks. Review of Public Surveys/Summary of Listening Se ssions: Dan Gellert gave a b rief summary of the public s urveys/summary from the listening sessions held in Taylor County. A handout was provided with the data. No action was taken. Ambulance Options Pros and Cons: Kirley presented a handout with different options for an ambulance contact with th e pros and cons of each. T he County B oard ha d requested an additional option be added. A brief discussion was held. No action was taken. The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee may go into Closed Session by taking a roll call vote a t approx imately 9:45 a.m. pursuant to Section 19.85(1) (e), Wisconsin State Statutes, for the purpose of conductin g public business with competitive or bargaining implications (topic: to discuss the on-going negotiations of a contract for emergency services (amb ulance)). No action will be taken in closed session. T he Closed Session is expected to last for approximately 45 minutes. Bub moved to go into closed session; Seconded by Floyd. Roll call v ote taken: YES – Zenner, Lemke, Floyd, Rosemeyer, Metz and Bub. NO – none. Motion carried. Closed se ssion started at 9: 48 am. Floyd moved to go back into open session; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. The meeting will reconvene in Open Session pursuan t to Section 19. 83, Wisconsin S tate Statutes, to take any necessar y action on the matter discuss ed in Closed Session. Open session resumed at 10:25 am. No action was taken. Adjourn: With no further business, Floyd moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office TAYLOR COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMITTEE September 13, 2023 Sheriff’s Training Room, Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Lynn Rosemeyer called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Members Present: Lynn Rosemeyer, Chuck Zenner, Catherine Lemke, Raymond Soper and Lorie Floyd. Members absent: none. Other Attendees: Jim Metz, Mike Bub, Courtney Graff, Larry Brandl, Brian Wilson-Star News, Robert Kirkley and Jason Keffeler-Aspirus and Andria Farrand. Approve the agenda: Motion by Zenner, seconded by Thums, to approve the agenda with 4 items. Motion carried. Ambulance Contract Negotiations: Rosemeyer started by stating this was not contract negotiations, rather a discussion. Kirkley presented 5 options to the committee with different levels of full-time staff and paid on call staff. • Option 1- keep coverage as it is now, full-time staff at each station during the day and on call at night. • Option 2- change the full-time staff to nights and have on-call coverage during the day. This is a challenge for people with full time jobs. • Option 3- have full-time staff at all three stations. Would need to increase to 25.2 full- time staff from the current level of 13.6. • Option 4- move all full-time staff to Gilman and Rib Lake and use Medavac inter -facility crews during the day in Medford and pai d on call at night. He stated it is easier to get paid on call in Medford than the outlying areas. • Option 5- full-time staff in Medford only responding to the entire county. Floyd asked if they had discussed 24 hours shifts and Kirkley stated some EMT’s have 24-hour shifts in their rotation, so yes they are an option. Keffeler added that paid on call and volunteers are no longer working, it is even harder in rural areas. And this is a problem throughout the state. When asked if there was any additional funding coming from the state, Kirkley said maybe in 2025. Aspirus is also looking at different options to entice people to get trained. Floyd left the meeting at 8:30. Lynn asked that they send the options and the costs for each to the committee prior to the next meeting on September 22nd. Kirkley agreed. Set next meeting date: The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, September 22 at 9:00 a.m., for the committee only and Lynn has asked that Aspirus join us at 11:00. Adjourn: Motion by Lemke, seconded by Zenner, to adjourn. The m eeting was adjourned at 8:54 a.m. Andria Farrand County Clerk Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee September 08, 2023 Ground Floor Sheriff’s Training Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lynn Rosemeyer. Members Present: Lynn Rosemeyer, Catherine Lemke, Charles Zenner, Ray Soper, Lorie Floyd and Jim Metz. Members Absent: none Other Attendees: Christina Schuld, Larry Woebbeking, Corey Dassow, Larry Brandl (Finance) , Andria Farrand (County Clerk), Courtney Graff (Corp Counsel), Dan G ellert (E.M.), Brian Wilson (Star News), Scott Mildbrand, and Jeff Nernberger. Approve Minutes: Lemke moved to a pprove the minutes of the August 11 , 2023 meeting; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Floyd moved to approve the agenda with 13 items; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Set Next Meeting Day: Call of the Chairman; tentatively set for October 13. Review and Approve August Expenses and Revenue Reports : Expense reports and revenue spreadsheets were emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Zenner moved to approve the August expenses and revenue reports as presented; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Public Comments: None. Medical Examiner: Report was emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Ambulance Business: A letter from Aspirus terminating the current contract was emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Emergency Management Services: a) Updates: A brief summary of updat es was emai led prior to t he meeting. No discussion was held. b) 2024 P roposed Budget : The budget was em ailed p rior to the meeting. No discussion. Zenner moved to approve the 2024 proposed budget as presented and send it to the Finance Committee for review; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Sheriff’s Report & Law Enforcement Business: Woebbeking gave a brief update. a) Updates: o Woebbeking stated the computer that runs the electronic do ors in the jail is failing. He has already ordered the computer because there is a 10-12-week wait for installation. The cost is approx. $9,000. o Woebbeking stated he is sti ll waiting for maintenance to repaint the jail per the inspection recommendations. o (Was stated after the closed session was done and back into open session .) Woebbeking was informed the City of Medford PD has approved an employee to work full-time from home remotely from Puerto Rico. This employee has access to the County owned and maintained server and the Spillman Operating system, which is vital to the operations of the Sheriff’s Office as it ma intains records and is critical to dispatching all emergen cy services throughout the county. Woebbeking reached out to the Medford PD and since has received a request from the City PD asking the Sheriff ’s Office to allow this city employee access to the operating system from Puerto Rico. Wo ebbeking informed the Mayor and Chief Liske he would check with Spillman security special ists and provide a response to their request. Woebbeking inform ed the Commi ttee he had ju st been on a z oom meeting with a Spillman specialist, who is a CJIS Complaint officer, CJIS Security and Global Data Protection specialist, and Taylor County IT. The recommendation was to deny the city employee access to the operating system outside the walls of the court house. Besides the normal IT security, a 2- person authentic verification would n eed to be in place and a data security software program would need to be purchased at an approx. cost of $15,000. On top of that, a county employ ee would have to watch the city employee navigate the oper ating sys tem live wh ile working. The simple VP N a s proposed is insufficient m any time s over. Based on th e information given , Woebbeking stated he will be denying the City PD request for remote access to the operating system. He is aware this may cause some tension with the City PD but that is not his intention. H is intention is to make the best -informed decision to keep the $800,000 county owned operating system secure. b) 2024 Proposed Budget: The budget was emailed prior to the meeting. Discussion was held regarding the proposed increase in revenue. Woebbeking stated Marathon County has indic ated an anticipation of u tilizing our jail more than currently. Soper moved to approve the 2024 proposed budget as presented and send it to the Finance Committee for review; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. c) Request to Fill Vacant Deputy Position: Woebbeking asked to fill an upcoming vacant deputy position . Lemke moved to app rove filling the d eputy position as requested; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee may go into Closed Session by taking a roll call vote a t approximately 10:00 a.m. pursuant to Section 19.85(1) (e), Wisconsin State Statutes, for the purpose of conductin g public business with competitive or bargaining implications (topic: to discuss the on-going negotiations of a contract for emergency services (amb ulance)). No action will be taken in closed session. T he Closed Session is expected to last for approximately 60 minutes. Floyd moved to go into closed session; Seconded by Lemke. Roll call v ote taken : YES – Zenner, Lemke, Floyd, Soper, Rosemeyer. NO – none. Motion carried. Closed se ssion started at 9 :19 am. Zenner moved to go back into open session; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. The meeting will reconvene in Open Session pursuan t to Section 19.83, Wisconsin S tate Statutes, to take any necessary action on the matter discussed in Closed Session. Open session resumed at 11:26 am. Co rporation Counsel will draft a response letter to the contract termination letter re ceived from Aspi rus. A n additional meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 13 at 8:00am. Adjourn: With no further business, Floyd moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:46 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee August 11, 2023 Ground Floor Sheriff’s Training Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lynn Rosemeyer. Members Present: Lynn Rosemeyer, Catherine Lemke, Charles Zenner, Ray Soper, and Lorie Floyd. Members Absent: none Other Attendees: Alyssa Br anowitzer, Larry Woebbeking , Corey Dassow, Bob Kirkley (Ambulance), Larry Brandl (Finance), Brian Wilson (Star News), and Ashley Dake. Approve Minutes: Floyd moved to a pprove t he minutes of the July 14, 2023 meeting; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Lemke moved to approve the agenda with 10 items; Seconded by Soper. Motion carried. Set Next Meeting Day: Call of the Chairman; tentatively set for September 8. Review and A pprove July Expenses and Revenue Reports : Expense report s and revenue spreadsheets were emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Zenner moved to approve the July expenses and revenue reports as presented; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Medical Examiner: No report was provided. Ambulance Business: a) Updates: Kirkley gave a brief update. There was a total of 84 transports. b) Amendment to Co ntract with Critical Pay: Discussion was held regarding the coverage in the Gilman area. The current way is not a feasible solution and people are not willing to work. Discussion was held regarding one ambulance contract versus three (3). Kirkley stated the State would shut down the Gilman and Rib Lake bases due to lack of staffing if they were to continue to be separate contracts. The current contract will be negotiated again during the County budget review process. It was mentioned that this staffing shortage was projected in 2021. The question of Act 12 EMS state funding was asked but Brandl stated that will not take effect until the 2025 budget year. Zen ner stated the current contract needs to be upheld and honored. The budget reviews begin in September and negotiations can be looked at during that time. Soper moved to reject the proposed Amendment to the Contract with Critical Pay; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Emergency M anagement Servi ces: A brief s ummary of updat es was emai led prior to the meeting. No discussion was held. Sheriff’s Report & Law Enforcement Business: Woebbeking gave a brief update. o He stated there are currently 59 inmates, with 28 from Marathon and 2 from Price Counties. o Woebbeking stated the recent jail inspection noted the paint in the cells (floors, hand railings) needs to be redone. Woebbeking spoke with the County Maintenance Director and he suggested an epoxy coating may last longer than painting but he needs to look at the cost and time availability. o Woebbeking stated there are currently t wo (2), and poss ibly another, open positions in the jail. Adjourn: With no further business, Floyd moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:43 am. Secretary: Alyssa Branowitzer, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee July 14, 2023 Ground Floor Sheriff’s Training Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lester Lewis. Members Present: Lester Lewis, Catherine Lemke, Charles Zenner, Ray Soper, Lorie Floyd and Jim Metz. Members Absent: none Other Attendees: Alyssa Branowitzer , Larry Woebbeking, Dan G ellert (E.M.), Bob Kirkley (Ambulance), Larry Brandl (Finance) , Michelle Cahoon (Hea lth Dept) , Scott Perrin (Medical Examiner), Brian Wilson (Star News), Ashley Dake, Kris Nelson, and James Small ( Office of Rural Health). Approve Minutes: Lemke moved to a pprove t he minutes of the June 12, 2023 meeting; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Zenner moved to approve the agenda with 11 items; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Set Next Meeting Day: Call of the Chairman; tentatively set for August 11. Review and A pprove May and June Expenses and Revenue Reports : Expense reports and revenue spreadsheet s were emailed pr ior to the meeting. No discussion. Lemke moved to approve the May and June expenses and revenue reports as prese nted; Se conded by Floyd. Motion carried. Medical Examiner: a) Updates: Perrin pres ented a status report. Discussion was h eld regarding possible grants for opioid overdoses and the process of reporting and autopsies. Perrin stated an autopsy is performed in cases of a suspicious death and unknown cause of death. Most causes are determined by the death site and medications taken by the individual. It was asked if a blood samp le was taken for every death and Perrin state d no. The c ost of a broad-spectrum test is approx. $300. Lew is stated there is no need to spend money to get more grant money and there are many legislative restrictions on the grants. Perrin stated Taylor County has a low exposure to opioid overdoses compa red to other counties. Perrin and Woebb eking talked about the criteria used to determine if a medical e xaminer was need ed at the s ite of a death . Further details of a death investigation will be discussed between Perrin and Woebbeking at a later date. b) Review Con tract: Perrin stated most count ies don ’t renew the medical examiner ’s contract. Generally, the M.E. stays in place after appointment by t he County Board until he/she decides to leave. Perrin’s contract is a two (2) year term. Perrin made no request to change the contract. Ambulance Business: c) Updates: Kirkley gave a brief update. He stated COVID restrictions have been removed and vaccines are no longer required for employment. Updates included: one (1) employee has changed to casual status, waiting for another causal employee to move from out of the area to fill a spot, about 92% of open shifts have been filled, moving some staff from Rib Lake to Gil man to cover s hifts, and pulling interfacil ity unit to respond to 911 calls. d) Amendment to Co ntract with Critical Pay: Amendment to Amb ulance Contra ct, Aspirus Critical staffing pay p olicy, Email from Co rp Counsel, and the 2022 Amb ulance Contract were emailed prior to the meeting. Discussion was held regarding the cost of the critical pay and response times for call s in the Gilman area. It was mentioned that State Statute requires municipalities to provide an a mbulance service, not the County. Discussion was held regarding the 45% cap of exp enses for the Ambulance contract and it was added to protect the County from unforeseen circumstances and the critical pay is not part of th at 45%. Soper moved to disprove the Amendment to the Amb ulance Contract; Se conded by Fl oyd. Discussion was held regar ding the actual expense and revenue figures for the c ritical pay. The Committee is requesting a summary of the expenses and revenues for operating the ambulance, not what Asp irus bills out. Soper withdrew his motion. Lemke moved to table the amendment until the expense/revenue summary is provided; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Proposed County Wide First Responders by Ashley Dake: Ashley Dake, along with Kris Nelson and James Small, presented a county wide first responders’ program. Dake is asking for a letter of support from the LEES committee in order to continue with the process of creating the program. Discussion was held re garding the distinction between ambulance employee and first responder, volunteer basis, funding through the State, the name use of Taylor County , the number of people willing to participate, mutual aid agreement with Aspirus, and a letter of support. Soper moved to approve a letter of support for Ashley Dake to proceed with creating the Taylor County Wide First Responders program; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Letter of support will be drafted by Data Records Manager and sent to committee members for review and approval, then forwarded to Dake. Emergency M anagement Servi ces: Gellert provided a b rief summary of u pdates. No discussion was held. Sheriff’s Report & Law Enforcement Business: Woebbeking gave a brief update. o He stated there are currently 50 inmates, with 18 from Marathon and 7 from Ashland. o The jail inspection was completed and some mi nor surface maintenance is needed. He will reach out to the Maintenance Dept. for an estimated timeframe. If they are not able to do it in a timely manner, and if the budget allows, an outside source is going to be needed. o Woebbeking sta ted Deputy Brett Paul has requ ested to have one (1) vacation day extended into his next work year. He was scheduled for a vacation day but was denied due to road coverage and lost his vacation day. The Committee agreed to extending the day but stated this request needed to go through Personnel and Finance for approval. Adjourn: With no further business, Lemke moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:29 am. Secretary: Alyssa Branowitzer, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee June 12, 2023 Ground Floor Sheriff’s Training Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lester Lewis. Members Present: Lester Lewis, Catherine Lemke, Charles Zenner, and Ray Soper. Members Absent: Lorie Floyd. Other Attendees: Christina Schuld, Dan Gellert (E.M.), Nicole Hager (H uman Resources), Larry Brandl (Finance), and Michelle Cahoon (Health Dept). Approve Minutes: Zenner moved to a pprove t he minutes of the May 12, 2023 meeting; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Soper moved to approve the agenda with 5 items; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Emergency Management Services: a) Discuss and Act on Proposed Extended Hours for Emergency Management Director from Grants Through the Health Department : Gellert gave a brief summary of the recent Health Department board meeting regarding consolidating work between the two departments. There is an overlap between the grants written and plans develope d for each department . The Health Dep artment proposes to cover 10 hours a week o f Gellert’s salary with grant funding for plan development and grant writing and in return, the Health Department wi ll take over some of Gellert’s payroll and financial management. The increase in hours will only be available if grant money is available. If the grant money runs out, the n Gellert will revert back to the current status of 35 hours per week. Brandl stated this temporary increase will save the County a little in wages but not a significant amount. Hager sta ted if this arrangement is classified as temporary, then no changes to the County Code are needed. Also mentioned, no change to the job description was needed as both depar tments are working together with the same responsibilities as before, just one doing more than the other. No further discussion was held. Soper moved to approve and send to the Finance Committee the proposed extended hours to 40 hours per week with 10 hours being grant funded by the Health Department; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Adjourn: With no further business, Lemke moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:14 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee May 12, 2023 Ground Floor Sheriff’s Training Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lester Lewis. Members Present: Lester Lewis, Catherine Lemke, Charles Zenner, Ray Soper and Lorie Floyd. Members Absent: None Other Attendees: Larry Woe bbeking, Corey Dassow, Christina Schuld, Robert Kirkley (Ambulance), Dan G ellert (E.M.), Nicole Hager (H uman Resources), Larry Brandl (Finance), and Brian Wilson (Star News). Approve Minutes: Lemke moved to a pprove t he minutes of the March 10 , 2023 meeting; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Zenner moved to approve the agenda with 10 items; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Set Next Meeting Day: Call of the Chairman; tentatively set for June 16. Review and Approve March and April Expenses and Revenue Reports: Expense reports and revenue spreadsheet s were emailed pr ior to the meeting. No discussion. Floyd moved to approve the March and April expenses and revenue reports as presented; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Medical Examiner: Report was emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion on report. Floyd asked i f the Committee coul d review the Medical Examiner Contract for cla rification on job duties and salary. Fl oyd stated she received co mments from citizens about the difficulty of contacting the Medical Examiner. Lewis stated certain job duties were directed by State Statute. This topic will be addressed at the next meeting. Ambulance Business: e) Updates: Kirkley gave a brief update on the number of calls the Ambulance responded to in April . He a lso stated there are two (2) new EMTs at the Medford base , one (1) employment offer has been pr esented but that individual has not responded back, and possibly two (2) more people are considering EMT scho ol. Kirkley state d staffing is getting better. He a lso mentioned he receiv ed two (2) new applications. Kirkley stated training sessions have been and are scheduled each month at the different bases. f) Amendment to Co ntract with Critical Pay: Kirkley presented an amendment to the current ambulance contract to include critical pay for covering s hifts. He presented figures for the pay differences. How ever, the Appendix for the contract amendment was not attached. Floyd asked abou t the coverage agreements with adjacent agencies. Agreements have been sign ed with Rusk County and Cornell but Kirkley is still wa iting for a few more. Discussion was held regarding the use of coverage agreements and the intent of them. Lewis stated Corp Counsel would need to review the amendm ent before any further action. Soper moved to table the Amendment to the Contract with Criti cal Pay until the next meeting; Se conded by Lemke. Motion carrie d. Woebbeking mentioned he was contacted by the owners of the rod eo grounds and they were frustrated with the lack of communic ation with Aspirus regarding having an am bulance present during the rodeo activi ties. Kirkley stated he has been in contact with them but will reach out again. Lewis and Woebbeking stated they were contacted by Ashley Dake regarding a letter of support to create a County wide First Responder team. Information was emailed prio r to the meeting but further discussion is need ed before any endorsement. Ashley will be invited to attend the next meeting for additional discussion. There is a meeting scheduled for May 25 at 5pm in the Health Dept. regarding this topic. Emergency Management Services: b) Updates: Gellert gave a brief update. o The reimbursement check for the Dec. 2022 s torm damage has been received and cleanup work has started. o The Smoke Alarm Program has installed 51 alarms. o Gellert had completed his F EMA classes. He is planning a f unctional exercise for this fall. Taylor County is hosting the E.M. Region meeting on July 18. o Gellert received an emergency plan from Whether Shield, which brings the total to 10 plans. c) EOC Update and Proposed Space: Gellert stated the proposed space the EOC location has been chan ged from the Education Center to the old storage area next to the E .M. office. This area has been under the supervi sion of the Health Dept. Gellert needs to create a list of items needed to set up the center but most of the infrastructure is already located near the room. Agreement s with the local Fire Departments are needed in the event the site needs to be mo ved. Lewis stated no action is needed but discussion and support from the Health Dept should be done. Sheriff’s Report & Law Enforcement Business: a) Updates: o Woebbeking stated there are cu rrently 38 inmates, with 14 from Marathon, 14 from Taylor and 10 women from Ashland due to Ashland losing all of their female employees. o The jail passed the audit without any negative violations/remarks. b) Protective Status for Jail Staff: Lewis stated a new State Law (Act 4) will go into effect January 1, 2024 for jail staff. This law allows the jail staff to elect to become Protective Status and contribute 6% more (post-tax) to their retirement . The legalities are still being discussed. If one decides to join, they cannot drop it later and if one decides not to join, they cannot enter later. This is a one-time option. Ne w hires after January 1, 2024 and elect to enter will have the 6% come out as pre-tax. The County cannot pay for this additional re tirement contri bution. Lewis stated since the County cannot pay, it might be advantageous to increase the pay by 3% to help offset the difference. The pay increase would have to be for all jail employees, as you cannot pick and choose who will get it. Discussion was held regarding the pay increase since employees will be choosing to do this on their own. No action was taken at this time. Adjourn: With no further business, Zenner moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:23 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee March 10, 2023 Ground Floor Sheriff’s Training Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lester Lewis. Members Present: Lester Lewis, Catherine Lemke, Charles Zenner, and Lorie Floyd. Members Absent: Ray Soper. Other Attendees: Larry Woebbeking, Corey Dassow, Christina Schuld, Robert Kirkley (Ambulance), Dan Gellert (E.M.), Andria Farrand (County Clerk), Brian Wilson (Star News), Derrick Romig, Josh Dalsky, Sue Swiantek, and Lynn Rosemeyer via telephone. Approve Minutes: Lemke moved to approve the minutes of the February 10 and February 15, 2023 meetings as emailed prior to the meeting; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Zenner moved to approve the agenda with 10 items; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Set Next Meeting Day: Call of the Chairman; tentatively set for April 14. Review and Approve February Expenses and Revenue Reports: Expense reports and revenue spreadsheet were emailed pr ior to the meeting. No discussion. Floyd moved to approve the February expenses and revenue reports as presented; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Medical Examiner: No report was provided. Ambulance Business: a) Derrick Romig to Dis cuss Ambulance St affing Issues: Derrick Romig stated he was speaking on behalf of himself and local residents from the western part of Taylor County regarding the lack of ambulance services in the Gilman area . Romig gave ex amples of when the ambulance was not service. He read a letter from resident with the same concerns. He st ated some statistics he came up with regarding distances and minutes from surrounding ambulance bases, Cornell, Th orp, Sheldon and Medford. Romig expressed fr ustration and disappointment about th e lack of service. Bob Kirk ley was present to respond to any questions. Discussion was held again regarding the staffing issues. Kirkley state d a new full-time person was just hired from the Gilman area. He also stated he has not received any new appli cations for on -call positions. Aspirus is currently sending people through a FTO (Field Training Officers) training but there is still a lack of people volunteering or even entering the profession. Romig stated Gilman is a ‘bedroom’ community where most people drive out of the area for work. When asked if the fire depar tment members would be willing to go through EMR training if C OVID restrictions were lifted or eased, he said probably about half a dozen. Further discussion was held re garding COVID vaccine exemptions. Kirkley stated current employees have been doing overtime shi fts up to 96 hours a week. Woebbeking suggested possible training for deputies in basic EMS . More discussion has been held regarding staffing in each area. Lewis stated t hrowing money as the issue was no t going to fix the lack of interest. Floyd moved for Kirkley to staff the ambulance at 24-hour coverage in all areas including overtime rates if needed, get coverage agre ements in place with o ther counties, and contact Corp Cou nsel to review the Ambulance Contract ; Se conded by Zenner. Motion carried. b) 2022 Subsidy Request: No discussion was held. Zenner moved to appro ve the 2022 subsidy re quest as requested in the amount of $643,835.00; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Emergency Management Services: a) Updates: A summary report was emailed pr ior to the meeting, which included update s on storm damage, outreach programs, training, Hyper-Reach and the EOC Committee. A room at the Education Center has been selected for the EOC. b) Purchase Vehicle from Sheriff’s Office: Gellert provided information for purchasing of a sheriff’s vehicle, such as reasons for E.M. activities, data for surrounding counties, data for milage, and funding. Gellert was asked once his required training was done, if the milage would decrease to which he said yes. Discuss ion was held regarding using a n existing county owned vehicle versus purchasing o ne specifically for the department . Lemke moved to approve E.M. to purchase a vehicle from the Sheriff’s Office; Seconded by Floyd. A roll call vote was taken: Y ES-none, NO -Zenner, Lemke, Floyd, and Lewis. Motion was denied. Sheriff’s Report & Law Enforcement Business: c) Updates: o Woebbeking stated there are currently 28 inmates, with 13 from Marathon. o The new deputy is scheduled to start on April 17. Adjourn: With no further business, Lemke moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:39 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee February 15, 2023 3rd Floor County Board Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 10:34 am by Lester Lewis. Members Present: Lester Lewis, Catherine Lemke, Ray Soper, Lorie Floyd and Charles Zenner (arrived at 10:37 am). Members Absent: None. Other Attendees: Larry Woebbeking, Christina Schuld, and Nicole Hager (Human Resources). The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee may go into Closed Session by taking a roll call vote at approximately 10:30 a.m. pursuant to Section 19.85(1)( c), Wisconsin State Statutes, for the purpos e of conducti ng an interview for Deputy Sheriff position. The Closed Session is expected to last for approximately 30 minutes: Lemke moved to go into closed session ; Seconded by Floyd. Roll call vote take n: YES – Soper, Floyd, Lemke an d Lewis. N O – none. Motion carried. Closed session started at 10:3 5 am. Soper moved to go back into open session; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. The meeting will reconvene in Open Session pursuant to Section 19.83, Wisconsin State Statutes, to take any necessa ry action on the matter disc ussed in Closed Session. Open session resumed at 11:05 am. No discussion or action taken. Adjourn: With no further business, Lemke moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 11:06 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee February 10, 2023 Ground Floor Sheriff’s Training Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lester Lewis. Members Present: Lester Lewis, Catherine Lemke, Ray Soper, Charles Zenner, and Lorie Floyd. Members Absent: None. Other Att endees: Larry Woebbeking, Corey Dassow, Christina Schuld, Robert Kirkley (Ambulance), Larry Brandl (Finance), Nicole Hager (Human Resources), Brian Wilson (Star News), Lynn Rosemeyer, Scott Copenhaver, Chris Moberg, and Michelle Grimm. Approve Minutes: Zenner moved to a pprove the minutes of the January 13, 2023 meeting; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Soper moved to approve the agenda with 12 items; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Set Next Meeting Day: Call of the Chairman; tentatively set for March 10. Review and Approve January Expenses and Revenue Reports: Expense reports and revenue spreadsheet were emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Zenner moved to approve the January expenses and revenue reports as presented; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Medical Examiner: Report was emailed prior to the meeting. No further discussion. Ambulance Bu siness: Bob Kirkley was pres ent. Floyd stated she met with County Board Chairman Jim Met z regarding the lack o f county EMTs, specifically in the Gilman area , and mentioned the possibility of creating a subcommittee to discuss the staffing is sues. Floyd attended a meeting on M onday in Gilman regarding this current situation and thought it was productive. Due to COVI D restrictions, some people left the service. Kirkley stated the people that left and want to return, should reapp ly and he woul d walk them through the process of requesting an exemption. Asp irus is required to follow rules regarding COVID for Medicare reimbursement. If the County owned the ambulance service, it would not be required to follow those same rule s. However, the co st of owning the a mbulance service would be about $2 million. It was stated the County is not requ ired to have an ambulance service but local municipalities, such as the towns, are required. The County took over in the late 1960s. Former EMT employees, Chris Moberg and Scott Copenhaver, stated they would be willing to return to the amb ulance service if exemptions were granted. They applied and were denied. Kirkley asked them to apply again and he would help the best he could. Floyd stated a subcommittee might be useful in the recruitment process. Committee members agreed a subcommittee would be f ine but both Zenner and Soper s tated they could not be on the subcommittee. Zenner stated he has too many current obligations and Soper was one (1) of the members of a prior subcommittee to discuss staffing with more volunteers and incentive programs. Zenner moved to create a subcommittee for the ambulance staffing issues; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Lewis appointed Floyd and Lem ke to be members. Lewis stated the subcommittee should not be more th an two (2) pe ople, as three (3) would make a quorum. Kirkley gave a brief updat e. He stated yesterday a new full-time employee was hired and she was from the Gilman area. He is looking into inc entive bonuses for on -call volunteers. He would like more meetings with all crews and to develop better communication with the departments. Kirkley stated new cover agreements are b eing presented between counties for service coverage when there is not enough staffing. Currently , the county agreements are only for mutual aid assist ance, not specifically when th ere is lack of staffing. These ag reements need to be signed by June 30 th. Kirkley asked what the thoughts were on contracts for individuals going through EMT schooling. He stated the current model was the individual was sponsored through the county and agreed to two (2) years of service after being certified. It was mentioned the years of service should be increased for future contracts. These contracts are between the i ndividual an d the County Ambulance Service, not Aspirus . Floyd moved to create a c ontract for funding the training o f the current paramedic student; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Emergency M anagement Servi ces: Report was emailed prior to the meeti ng. No further discussion. Sheriff’s Report & Law Enforcement Business: d) Updates: o Woebbeking stated there are currently 41 inmates, with 17 from Marathon and 4 from Price. o IT informed Woebbeking a server upgrade may be needed in the near future. o Woebbeking has started doing one (1) on (1) interviews /meetings with all Sheriff’s Office employees and is about ¾ done. The Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee may go into Closed Session by taking a roll call vote at approxim ately 10: 00 a.m. pursu ant to Section 19.85(1)(c), Wisconsin State Statutes, fo r the purpose of conducting interviews for Deputy Sheriff position. The Closed Session is expected to last for approximately 60 minutes: Zenner moved to go into closed session; Seconded by Floyd. Roll call vote taken: YES – Zenner, Soper, Floyd, Lemke and Lewis. NO – none. Motion carried. Closed session started at 9:54 am. Soper moved to go back into open session; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. The meeting will re convene in Open Session pursuant to Section 19.83, Wisconsin State Statutes, to take any necessary action on the matter discussed in Closed Session. Open session resumed at 10:58 am. No discussion or action taken. Adjourn: With no further business, Floyd moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:58 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office Law Enforcement and Emergency Services Committee January 13, 2023 Ground Floor Sheriff’s Training Room Call Meeting to Order: The meeting was called to order at 9:00 am by Lester Lewis. Members Present: Lester Lewis, Catherine Lemke, Ray Soper, Charles Zenner, and Lorie Floyd. Members Absent: None. Other Attendees: Larry Woebbeking, Corey Dassow, Christina Schuld, Daniel Gellert (E.M.), Robert Kirkley (Ambulance), Larry Brandl (Finance), Nicole Hager (Human Resou rces), and Brian Wilson (Star News). Approve Minutes: Zenner moved to approve the minutes of the December 09, 2022 meeting; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Approve Agenda: Lemke moved to approve the agenda with 10 items; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Set Next Meeting Day: Call of the Chairman; tentatively set for February 10. Review and App rove December Expenses and Revenue Rep orts: Expense report s and revenue spreadsheet were emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion. Soper moved to approve the December expenses and revenue reports as presented; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. Medical Examiner: Report was emailed prior to the meeting. No further discussion. Ambulance Business: John Deal is no longer the cont act person for the ambulance. Ro bert Kirkley ha s ta ken the po sition effective Monday, Jan uary 9 th. Kirkley was present to ans wer questions and provide an update. Kirkley stated he will be loo king at the ambulance staffing issues and service areas. K irkley explained it was state statute to have 24-hour service for the County but difficult to have a base operation in service areas w ith low service calls. He is trying to get more recruits for the Gilman and Rib Lake areas. The response time to Gilman is a major factor in a full-time position based there. Kirkley stated the low number of EMT s is a result of people not entering into the prof ession. Discussion w as held regarding staff vs cost to the County. The Committee wants to see more outreach from Aspirus for EMT recruitment. Kirkley stated a possibility of partnering with Nicolet for high school seniors (must be 18 years old) as interns. He also stated there are sign-on benefits for EMTs, such as a $5,000 bonus for full-time hires, free education for inter nal emp loyees, and tuiti on reimbursement for a license change. Lewis stated Kirkley has been appointed the position of Service Director since Deal stepped out and the Committee needed to vote to make it official according to state statute. Zenner moved to appoi nt Rob ert Kir kley the S ervice Dire ctor for Taylor County Ambulanc e; Seconded by Lemke. Motion ca rried. Kirkley ask ed the Committee what they wa nted from him and it was mentioned the expense reports. This has been asked for in the past and never presente d. Kirkley stated he would be able to have a monthly report but it would be a month behind . The Committee was in agreement with that. Emergency Management Services: Gellert was present and gave a brief update. a) Updates: o Storm Damage Report: Dec ember 15 storm – Gellert is working with t ownships for cost e stimates for damages to submit to the state for a WI Disaster F und. Currently the estimates are close to $200 ,000. The eligible funds would be for debris clean up an d manpower hours. The maximum rei mbursement would be 75%. o Community Outreach Programs: 1) All fire dep artments have signed on and 1 2 smoke alarms have been installed. Gellert needs to get six (6) more installed. 2) The DNR snowmobile safety class has been cancelled due to insufficient notice with the State. The new date is scheduled for January 30 & 31 from 4-8pm. o Update on November Spill: Spill occurred on November 9th at a residence. o Training: 1) The 2023 Statew ide Regional Table top Exerci se is scheduled for January 25, 2023 to in clude HE RC, Hea lth Dept, and E .M. with all 52 count ies participating. 2) A functional exercise for EPCRA will be schedu led but date a nd time are unknown. 3) Hyper-Reach: It is up and running as o f Jan. 1. A second webinar training was held on December 22. Discussion was held regarding all the notices individuals were getting. It was mentioned that settings can be c hanged for text or phone alerts. o At the end of the meeting, Gellert asked Woebbeking if he could be notified of all large/important incidents that occurred. W oebbeking asked why it was important for those notifications and E .M. has been contacted when services are needed. Woe bbeking stated in large incidents with many people involv ed, it would be difficult for dispatch to try to remember to contact E.M. just as a notification. W oebbeking asked Gellert to create a crite ria list for incidents he would like to be notified of and present it for consideration. b) Purchase A Vehicle for Emergency Management: Gellert asked the Committee to purchase a Sheriff’s squad when it is ready to be sold in the sp ring. Gellert stated he has funding in the emergency management service fund to c over the p urchase. He did not have e xact figures, but he estimated his reimbursement mileage from Octo ber through December 2022 at about 180 miles, not to mention the times he used a County owned vehicle. Discussion was held regarding the vehicle maintenance and i f other counti es have vehicles designated for Emergency Management. The Committee asked Gellert to gather more information for mileage, vehicle maintenance, and other counties usages and bring the request back at a later date. No action was taken. c) Emergency Operation Center (EOC) Subcommittee: Gellert is asking for the Com mittee’s permission to create a subcommittee for discussing and recommending ideas regarding an Emergency O peration Center. The sub committee would have repr esentatives from the LEES Com mittee, Law Enforcement, Emergen cy Management, Buildings and Grounds, and the He alth Dept. The list of pot ential subcommittee members would need to be approved and appointed by the County B oard Chairman, Jim Metz. Floyd moved to allow Gellert to create an Emergency Opera tion Center (EOC) subcommittee list of representatives as mentioned above and present to the County Board Chairman for appointment; Seconded by Zenner. Motion carried. Sheriff’s Report & Law Enforcement Business: e) Updates: o Woebbeking stated there are currently 38 inmates, with 19 from Marathon. o Woebbeking stated the Buildings and G rounds Dept . needs a couple veh icles. Joe Svejda met with Woebbeking and he would like to purchase the ¾ ton squad for $20,000. The vehicle has approx. 150,000 miles but isn’t expected to be replaced for another year or t wo. Woebbeking stated he believe s this is good working relations with another Cou nty d ept. and the truck could be replaced within a couple of months. Discussion was held regarding buying vehicles sooner than the replacement period just to sell it to another County dept. Zenner moved to approve selling the ¾ ton squad to the Buildings and Grounds Dept. for $20,000 and replacing it with a new truck; Seconded by Floyd. Motion carried. o The Sheriff’s office is down two (2) positions in the jail, one (1) verbal and one (1) written res ignations. Woebbeking is as king to re place both positio ns eve n though one (1) will not be vacant until April. The budget will cover the difference for salaries. The Committee did not have any arguments to this. f) County Code 3.02 Appointment Procedure: The change to the County Code for section 3.0 2 was emailed prior to the meeting. No discussion was held. Zenner moved to approve the change to the County Code 3.0 2 as presented: Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. g) Job Description for Deputy Sheriff: The updated job description for Deputy Sheriff was emailed prior to the meeting. Floy d suggested a few word changes. Un der the Knowled ge and Abilities section: 1) add – Knowledge of applicable County ordinances an d state statutes and the ability to interpret and apply them as needed. 2) change – wording for use of force to: Ability to apply proper use of force skills as necessary to control the situation. Floyd moved to approve the updated job description for deputy sheriff as amended; Seconded by Lemke. Motion carried. Adjourn: With no further business, Lemke moved to adjourn the meeting; Seconded by Soper. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:52 am. Secretary: Christina Schuld, Taylor County Sheriff’s Office