By CAROL POMEDAY
Ozaukee Press staff
Posted 9-2-09
The Village of Belgium will have a police force next year if Village President Kevin Kowalkowski gets his way.
“I want this included in the 2010 budget just so you know where I’m coming from,” Kowalkowski told the other two members of the General Government and Finance Committee Tuesday.
“I’ve had quite a number of residents calling me about a police department that was triggered by the drug bust (on July 16 at a house on Elm Street). I don’t want this to be a political game where it’s put off. The change needs to happen, and it needs to happen in 2010.”
Village Marshal Scott Brinkman, a full-time Grafton police officer, presented a 16-page proposal for forming a police department with three part-time officers. Each officer would work 16 hours a week.
Brinkman estimated the annual operating budget would be $67,350 and start-up costs would be $61,230 — $12,700 for a squad car, $4,580 for squad equipment, $26,580 for radios and computer equipment, $9,000 for weapons and gear and $5,500 for uniforms — for a first-year cost of $128,580.
In subsequent years, the operating costs would be offset by fines and court fees collected through Mid-Moraine Municipal Court, Brinkman said.
Last year, the Village of Fredonia, which has a part-time police force, collected $16,200 in fines and $7,100 in court revenues. Court costs were $7,580. Grants may also be available through the Bureau of Justice, Brinkman said.
“There is a lot to digest here,” Trustee Ron Weyker said. “Is there a way to phase into this? That’s a big chunk to hit the taxpayers. I’m not so much objecting to the strategy — I think in time we will have to embark on a police department — but I thought it would be something we would migrate into step by step and not one big jump. What could we minimally do and still be better than we are today?”
He suggested starting in June or July, so only half the cost would be on next year’s taxes, or hiring two officers instead of three.
“I would prefer we reduce hours and hire three officers so we have them when we need them,” Brinkman said. He said the Village of Fredonia has seven or eight officers who each work eight to 10 hours a week.
Trustee John Thiele said he has heard more reports of break-ins and vandalism since the neighborhood watch program started on Elm Street. A police force would help lure businesses to the area, he said.
“This is something that should go to the full Village Board,” Weyker said. “I don’t want to spend weeks or months on this only to have the Village Board vote it down. Maybe it should be put to a referendum in November then we can get everyone’s thinking.”
Kowalkowski objected to a referendum if it would cost money.
“I think the cost (of a referendum) would be a drop in the bucket compared to the money we’re talking about,” Weyker said.
Clerk Lila Mueller will check into the cost for a November referendum.
Weyker said he was also concerned about where the police office would be located, saying the next request would be for a new building. Brinkman suggested the office be in the Village Hall, which is cramped but is a secure building.
Kowalkowski said space can be found, adding Michael Ansay would like the village to build a Village Hall in the New Luxembourg development in five years.
Ozaukee County Sheriff Maury Straub suggested the village contract with the sheriff’s department for additional patrol hours rather than form a police force, Kowalkowski said.
“I will talk to him and see what the cost will be so we can compare them,” he said.
