City Council Minutes 06-09-2014 SpecialMINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING — MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
Monday, June 9, 2014 — 6:00 p.m.
Mississippi Room, Monticello Community Center
Present: Clint Herbst, Lloyd Hilgart, Tom Perrault, Glen Posusta, Brian Stumpf
Absent: None
Others: Jeff O'Neill, Wayne Oberg, Sheriff Joe Hagerty (Wright County Sheriff's
Department), Dave Anderson (WCSD), Todd Sandin (WCSD), Dan Anselment
(WCSD), Jason Roubinek (Police Advisory Commission), Brad Fyle (PAC)
1. Call to Order
The special meeting was called to order by Mayor Herbst at 6:01 p.m.
2. Purpose of Meeting: Discussion of law enforcement service hours with Wright
County and possible contract adjustment for 2015
Jeff O'Neill led off the discussion with a statement of the purpose of the meeting and
asked for an introduction from those present. He then turned the meeting over to
Wright County Sheriff Joe Hagerty.
3. Review 2014 service demand trends and discuss police patrol hours for 2015
Sheriff Hagerty explained that he had requested a meeting with the City Council to
discuss the hours of service for law enforcement. He noted that Council had reduced
the contract by four hours per day for 2014. Since that time, requests for some
services have been increasing, and they would like the City to consider reinstating
those hours for 2015.
Dan Anselment took over and reviewed the 1 St quarter hours of service and service
calls. He talked about the impact of the reduction in service hours using an example
of problems that occurred earlier this year at the community center and the delay in
getting there due to fewer cars on patrol during that time. Dan Anselment
commented that Monticello has a lot going for it with traffic and business
opportunities. However, this also increases the opportunities for crimes and other
incidents. Several examples he mentioned involved organized crime sprees of
shoplifting and theft, including theft of credit cards. These type of calls take longer
for an officer to process and try to resolve. Clint Herbst asked if the Sheriff's
Department has a process for backfilling with other officers when there are a lot of
things going on at the same time. Dan Anselment and Dave Anderson explained how
they call in other cars to backup when the need exists.
Dan Anselment commented that a main concern at this time is traffic which increases
during the summer season. This is particularly important in the Monticello area with
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I -94 bisecting the City. There was some discussion about handling crashes and who
is responsible. Dave Anderson explained that the state patrol handles crashes on the
freeway, but the county is responsible for traffic control off the freeway. Dan
Anselment noted that travelers are taking a lot of side streets with the I -94 detour and
that is creating more activity for the county cars. Dan Anselment also mentioned that
people like to see squad cars in their neighborhoods to know that they are being
protected. Wright County Sheriff's Department wants to make sure that they are not
just responding to calls but are being proactive for the City residents.
Dan Anselment asked for questions and noted that he provided a handout to Council
showing the cost of law enforcement services. The County is proposing a cost
increase of $2 per hour for 2015. Dan Anselment noted that the main cost increases
are created by staffing and fuel.
Clint Herbst asked about the type of service calls and noted a drastic drop in alarm
and fire calls. Jason Roubinek stated that the Fire Department has been working with
businesses to improve their alarm systems so as not to have as many false alarms.
Dave Anderson stated that he wasn't sure that the number of alarms calls as listed is
accurate. Dan Anselment noted that they will be implementing a new crime tracking
system which should provide more accurate statistics.
Jeff O'Neill asked Dan Anselment to comment on what they are seeing as causes for
the increase in calls. Dan Anselment said that new growth, such as with new
businesses, generates more calls. They like to bring in officers that can help solve
criminal incidents and would use the extra four hours to bring in a car to concentrate
on those type of calls. Todd Sandin noted that the types of crimes occurring at some
of the local businesses are solvable crimes due to the better technology in place. The
Sheriff's Department would prefer to be available on a regular basis to help resolve
those crimes. Dave Anderson explained some of the processes that they go through
to work on a crime report, noting that each item could require an incident report.
Brad Fyle noted that the Police Advisory Commission has discussed this several
times and would like to see the City reinstate the four hours that were decreased for
2014. Glen Posusta said that he doesn't see the necessity for increasing the hours
again as he sees a lot of police coverage already present in Monticello. Dave
Anderson pointed out that there are deputies that keep their squad cars in Monticello
and travel through town to get to their areas. There are also area cars that pass
through town on a regular basis.
Clint Herbst noted that the Council will discuss this at a council meeting in the near
future so they can notify the County in advance of the August 15I' deadline whether
there would be any changes.
Lloyd Hilgart asked what type of crimes they are seeing more. Dan Anselment said
many of them are technology- related: cell phones, credit/debit cards, computers, etc.
Wayne Oberg asked about the rate of crimes that are solved. Dan Anselment noted
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that more crimes are being solved but it takes more time and involves more
specialized law enforcement. Dave Anderson talked about the type of crimes and
expects more violent type of crimes to increase, especially with the traffic coming in
from out of town. Wright County is seeing a lot of drugs come through with meth
and heroin increasing along with prescription drugs. Wright County Sheriff's
Department provides a take back program for prescription medicines at the law
enforcement center in Buffalo. They could look into holding a collection day in
Monticello.
4. Adjournment
TOM PERRAULT MOVED TO ADJOURN THE SPECIAL MEETING AT 6:48 P.M.
GLEN POSUSTA SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 5 -0.
Recorder: Catherine M. Shuman
Approved: June 23, 2014
Attest:
City Administrator
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