The Owen-Withee Police Committee met on Tuesday, October 7, with the primary discussion on budget items.
There was discussion about the savings account, which has a balance of $96,174.62. Committee chair Pam Jaffke said she wanted to leave something available for when they need a new squad. Committee member Bob Wilczek said that a used squad could be purchased on the government surplus auction site but you don’t know what you are getting and vehicles have no value after five years for insurance purposes. He felt that moving forward they should be purchasing new cars. He said it is nice to have a cushion. He said the funds were there because they went without any officers except Officer Haugstad for two years. Chief of Police Patrick Fehlman said they won’t have those large surpluses going forward as the budget is getting closer to what they actually need. Committee member Larry Klabon said he didn’t think it was proper to carry over money at year end. He felt it should be spent or used to reduce the next budget. He said they could start budgeting for a new car. Wilczek said the police department is different than a municipality. He said if the fire district has money left over, it goes into a vehicle replacement fund. Committee member Jason Thornton thought there was something in the agreement about leftover funds. He suggested they make the savings account a capital equipment replacement fund. Wilczek said they need to at least leave enough for a new car in the account. Jaffke said they could add a line item to the budget, putting away maybe $4,000 a year into an equipment replacement fund. Klabon asked if it made sense for them to order ammunition with the county to get a better price. Fehlman said they don’t use the same ammunition. Klabon said he wasn’t in favor of keeping the $96,000. Wilczek said they already have a skeleton budget and it would hurt if they had to add money to replace a car. Klabon said when they get audited, they are going to find carrying over these funds is illegal. Owen Clerk Tracy Rau said the city auditors look at the police as part of the city audit and are aware of the carryover.
There was discussion that they would be looking for a new car and a new K9 in 2028. The cost of the dog could be around $10-15 thousand and the cost of just the car, with no outfitting, around $50,000. Thornton and Wilczek both said the money in savings should be put into an equipment account. Officer Jake Haugstad said they would be looking at a new car every 8-10, which is about the duration of a K9. Thornton said they can call it an equipment account. Committee member Susan Kalepp asked if they would have leftover money this year. Fehlman said a little, maybe $2,000. She asked about investing some of it in a CD to make more interest. Klabon asked if it would be a savings account specific to replacing equipment/vehicles. A motion was made, seconded, and approved to rename the current savings account an equipment replacement fund and to move money into a CD/Money Market fund where they could earn more interest. Different places will be checked for interest rates and a portion of the money will be moved. This will be approved at the next meeting.
The amendments to the Union Contract related to work hours were approved. The contract runs through 2027.
The committee went into closed session for about 15 minutes. In open they announced a raise of $1.25 per hour for Chief of Police Fehlman for 2026.
In the budget discussion, Chief Fehlman made a few adjustments to the budget presented at the prior meeting. The budget shows an increase of 2.875%. Fehlman cut some of the overtime he had built into the budget. The property/liability insurance was adjusted for the higher premium. He cut a little from office supplies and left squad fuel the same as this year. He also cut operating costs and uniforms. Care and training for K9 Jimi was set at $3,000. The total budget for 2026 will be $375,368.48. Owen’s portion is going up $6,819.59 to $243,989.51 and Withee’s portion is going up $3,672.09 to $131,378.97. Owen will be getting an additional $3,263.01 and Withee an additional $1,451.25 in Act 12 funds. These funds are to be used specifically for law enforcement, fire, and public works.
The bills were approved with one question about the professional photos that the police had taken.
The next meeting is planned for December 2.