Opinion, Nascar has a point. I just drove past the car and it is black. There are amber lights on it. Maybe that is what the people saw as gold. Then again, if you want to get rid of the law enforcement services, you may be the type of person to associate with criminals. In that case, maybe the people you associate with saw "gold" badges?
I still think if you want your vote, then let it be a vote that includes all tax/fee (whatever the township wants to call it this year) paying persons vote. Do not have the vote in the middle of the winter, include all to be fair (regardless of "residence" used for voter registration), and allow/encourage voting by absentee ballot. Then sit down and base performance and reporting expectations based on the given budget for that year. Be proactive, not disruptive, distractive, or deconstructive.

To me it appears to be a very dark blue - to some I suppose it could appear black. Either way it couldn't be mistaken for the sheriff's gold color.

Hmmmm opinion, last I knew the Township squad was black.

Professor - The chief gives a printed report at each town board meeting and an annual report. I have seen several of them and the problem is they are very vague. The Town of Milton simply does not have the need for the double services. Since this issue has come up it is amazing to find out how many citizens don't even realize that we have our own department. Many of those who do realize we have our department think our squad is gold (the sheriff department's) not dark blue (the town department's). Because our chief is a full time sheriff and a Milton resident they just assume that he is responding as a Town of Milton officer and don't realize he is on duty as a sheriff's deputy.

opinion, I never said they have to have a department. Read what I write. There are more townships in Wisconsin adding to, or starting police departments in the last 25 yrs than there are dissolving them. But you may not want that to be known because it would balance your staunch views.

opinion, I was correcting you by writing "Village" because it is a village, not a city or town! 911 does not dial itself in a lightning strike. If that were the case, then you better buy a lotto ticket! If the points you have made regarding the performance of the department are correct, then why don't you be constructive and pioneer a citizen committee to address these with the dept.? The need is there, or you would have never had the support to start a department, buy a car, buy a replacement car, furnish training/equipment, and so on. Having a police department is not a fair weather sport. You need it or you don't. Why not request better accountability if that is what you desire. In tight budgeting times, why not do as your township is now and reduce officer patrol? The hours worked are not only when the officers can get to it, but rather based on the budget and many other factors. To use the full time shifts of the officers as an excuse is a bit misleading. Remember, it is a part time job. It is a part time department. To be a police officer you must be certified and keep your training up. Assuming the Chief is budget conscious, he would be wise to hire officers that saved the department money by fulfilling their training at the full time place of employment. Remember, if an officer has a full time job elsewhere, he is apt to lose a lot if he is injured on a part time gig. This is why it is hard to find fill in officers or part time officers that can be free at times you wish to see them on patrol. Why not work with your department and see how you can create an efficient department that does the most good with the fewest resources. You have some of the details, some valid concerns, and I am willing to bet you have some creative solutions that don't involve the over-stretched Rock County Sheriffs Department. The idea of merging/coverage with Milton would not work because they are already down 2 officers and a chief.
Oh, actually reading my previous posts to the Gazette blogs will help you answer your own question as to me being 'Housewife.'

Opinion--Under those circumstances, I have to agree. Out of curiosity, does the Twsp. 'publish' their daily (or, weekly, etc.) activity logs that show any statistics reflecting productivity? For example, number of calls for service; UCR crimes reported/investigated/cleared; traffic enforcement statistics; etc. This type of empirical info might be useful in making an informed decision. Again, though, good luck!

Professor - Thank you for responding. I would never consider putting this information forward if there were an issue of public safety. I realize the safety of the citizens is invaluable. It has been brought up that our department should be discontinued before these times of sharp budgeting problems. Because there was not the concern for the budget as there is now it seemed to get tabled and never brought up again. The great majority of the hours our officers are on patrol are daytime hours during the week. I can't think of anything they have done that would not have been covered by the serfiff's office on their regular patrol.

Opinion--I didn't realize it was happening like that. If the patrol time is dictated by full-time committments, it might be time to make some changes. I had thought that the reason there was so much less time on the job was due to budget cuts. In other words, there was only enough money budgeted to have officers on the road 10% of the time. Still, another option would be to discuss merging with the City police. That might be financially feasible, and yet still maintain some autonomy. Good luck!

beachsexton - I did not write the VILLAGE of anything. This proposed referendum is about the TOWN of Milton. Towns do not have to have a police department. If you don't understand the difference about the laws that determine the differences between cities, towns, villages, etc. you probably cannot understand what the proposed referendum is. Many of the towns that I have mentioned have dissolved their police departments some time ago - they found it not necessary to have the double coverage and expenses that the TOWN of Milton still has. As for checking out a 911 hang up, we have had that experience in the past. During a storm lightning struck us and somehow the sheriff department got a 911 call from our home phone. Two deputies were knocking at our door in a very short time and insisted on coming in and checking our house. Therefore, I don't believe your assumption that 911 hang ups have a very low priority as you have inferred. Also, I don't recall saying that I have a problem with speeders - guess that also is an assumption of yours. I know that the TOWN of Milton is probably growing - I am assuming that is because it is a great place to live with very little need for a police department that can only patrol for about 10% of the time. As long as we are assuming so much, you can assume this is the last time I will respond to your senseless ranting. You seem to see no need to read the postings you are responding to carefully. I know how I would vote for the referendum if the board follows the citizens wishes and puts it on the ballot. Once the citizens make their wishes known it should be an easy decision for them either way. Hope you vote in November. (P.S. could you possibly be Evansville Housewife reincarnated?)

You mean the Village of Cambridge (1000-1200 people) in Oakland Township. They are covered by Oakland Townships PD and by the Dane County Sheriffs Dept. If you think that is a great example, then maybe you should call the Village of Clinton officials and let them know that their 6 full-time offers and 5 part time officers are not needed. They only have 1000 more people than your best example, and 2000+ less than Milton Township in the summer. And you forgot the reason Cambridge went to the Dane Co Sheriffs Dept. was because they followed the dysfunctional Deerfield Dept. As for the Town of Harmony, Town of Lima, and the Town of Black Earth, and the Koshkonong Township having police services, I have never heard of any of these having the need for them. I have never heard of any of these departments you listed ever having a police department. Maybe I missed the Lima Township squad car, but I am sure you can tell me where it was parked all those years. Like I said, give me good examples and I will consider your efforts to be realistic. Until that time, all you are doing is reducing the validity of any stops the Milton Township Police make. You create a 'no faith' effect that is detrimental to the authority and safety of your officers.
On a side note, the Rock County Sheriffs Department is stretched to the limits as it is. If you have so much faith in them jumping anytime you need them, dial 911 and hang up. You will get a feel of how prioritization of calls works. Now, get out your stop watch. Don't get me wrong, they do a great job, but they are usually very busy. If you have a problem with speeders on a certain road, the likelihood of them running radar for any length of time is slim to none. They may get to it if they have time, are in the area, and have no other calls to get to. Still, your best bet for specialized patrol is your local department. Your town is growing. Be thankful it is only a part time department.

Professor - I understand what you are saying. However, the Rock County Sheriff's Office is serving us 100% of the time while our Milton Town Police Department is only serving us approximately 10% of the time (the hours they can patrol for the town are determined by their full time job - not by the town's needs). If you call our department the great majority of the time you will get an answering machine telling you to call 911 if you have an emergency or to leave a message. In a real emergency this call could waste precious time. Like all other towns, we are paying for the sheriff's services through our tax dollars. In these times when we are all struggling to meet budgets, once again, I am asking is our department a "want" or a "need".

I don't live in Milton Twsp. Take these observations for what you will. First and formost, the biggest thing you will give up by disbanding is local control. Like it or not, once you let the S.O. 'take over', your town will not direct and respond to your law enforcement needs, the sheriff will. And I am not being deriive about their abilitites; they are stretched just like most law enforcement agencies. Now, you have a chief and his officers who answer to the Town; the sheriff does NOT answer to any town, or even the county board (with one exception: He does answer to the county board for his budget; he does not answer to anyone except the electorate for his operations, strategy, tactical deployments or even how he handles complaints.). So, if you have an 'issue', it will ultimately be decided by the sheriff of the county, not the leadership of the town. See what you give up? And, again without meaning to be derisive, there aren't as many deputies in areas as there used to be. Which means, instead of having an officer dedicated to YOUR town, you have a deputy whose first obligation is to the county; he or she may be needed elsewhere for a problem that someone else has determined is more important than yours.

Maybe the cost for that kind of autonomy is too much, and that's what your referendum will decide. Just don't go in to vote, thinking that you will have your 'own' deputy; it doesn't work that way.

I am not the one who decides that American citizens only vote in their home town municipality. You would have to take that up with the government. This referendum will be on the ballot on which we are voting for president of the United States. If a person owns five homes would they be able to vote 5 times? As for the City of Clinton - cities are required to furnish their own police protection - that is one of the requirements. We are talking about Milton Township - enitirely different thing. We don't write the laws - as good citizens we just have to follow them. Any of this information is available to all citizens - you just have to ask and check things out for yourself.

Hmmm wonder if we could save tax $ in clinton by letting Rock County take over compeletely for our PD...why duplicate services and place the burden on the residents that benefit, let's spread it to the whole county!

Tax paying residents are tax paying residents. Do you think it will fail if the people that pay taxes on summer homes are able to vote? What about the ones that live in mobile homes in parks/campgrounds for the summer, and pay yout tax/fee (whatever the Township wants to call it)? Do they have a say?

Please check out the Town of Koshkonong, City of Cambridge, Town of Harmony, Town of Lima, and the Town of Black Earth. By the way part time residents vote in their "home town" - not where they have a summer reisdence. Be sure to let me know what you find out. Any more questions about my facts?

Name 5 departments that have disbanded. Better yet, name one of similar size & function. Your "FACTS" are very skewed. They are correct in context, but taken out of context, they tend to be very beneficial to your cause. I agree, send it to vote, but you better wait until the summer residents are here so you include eveyone.

beachsexton - you assume quite a bit about me without knowing me. I stand by my FACTS. If you question them why not contact the supervisor and past supervisor mentioned in the article and see if they agree with these facts and also check to see where they got their information - you may be in for quite a surprise!! I am proud to be a citizen of the Town of Milton - wouldn't live anywhere else. We have many good people in our town - I don't believe that we have the need for the double services any more than the other towns in Wisconsin that have discontinued their police departments. Sometimes we have to choose between what we "want" and what we "need" - this may be one of those times - let the citizens decide.

Certain townships have more activity than others. Beloit Township has a need, should they add another 2 deputies down there and make you & I pay? Albion Township has a large enough population around the lake to warrant a department like Milton Townships. In fact, they are much smaller that Milton Township, but they are remote enough to justify the department. It is not cost effective to have a Dane County Sheriff in the corner of the county. While Milton Township is not remote, it is much larger. The population is large enough, and the concentration of people in the summer is always a problem. Look at Fulton Township as another example. It covers such a large area, and experiences a swelling of the masses come summertime, that it too has an officer to create a visual deterrent. The department does not have to be on the road at all hours of the day. Unlike a city department, the patrol has the task of balancing a small budget, part time employees, coverage for peak times, and random visibility. What you think is a peak time may not be what they think the peak time is. Their priorities, with the budget allotted them, may not mirror your priorities. Using the "loss" of $70K is propaganda that makes you sound biased. It has been said that was due to the purchase of a new squad and work done at the station. It is a one time expense that needs to be averaged out over the depreciable life of the expenditure. Anything else is misleading. Are you giving them the leeway they need to perform their job? What I mean is, how close do they have to come to the given budget before it triggers complaining that the officers were 'ticketing with a goal', 'being over aggressive', or 'targeting those with money'?

You could not get a new deputy for the costs of the Township's police services budget when you add in benefits. Even if you could, why should the rest of the tax payers have to sport the bill for time specific coverage for an area that has known, long term peak times? What next, a northern sub-station for the Sheriffs Dept.? Newville is busy enough to have an officer on duty at random times to promote safety more of the time. A small fraction of the people know the car is parked at the fire station in milton on off times. Myopinion should pay better attention to your driving rather than checking out where the patrol car is. Myopinion has no clue when the officers can work or what their shifts are. Don't make things up just to better your story. If the closest you get to the department is a drive past the squad when it is parked, then how do you know who the officers are, how many there are available, what their shifts are, and if the were requested to work. You should go back to your window and continue to watch for accidents, count the Deputies that respond, and keep record of the response time. You have far too much time on your hands. Maybe you could go out and assist in one of the accidents before the officers arrive, but you may have to put down your notebook.

If the majority of the residents at the annual meeting of Milton Township voted to hold a non-binding referendum why would there be any question as to putting this matter on the ballot? The cost would be minimal and the information should be invaluable to the board. I live in, and pay taxes to, the Town of Milton and it IS important to me if the department "lost money"... espcially if it was unnecessay. I can't remember the last time I have seen the town police pass our house and we live on a heavily traveled road. The sheriff's department, however, is very visible in our area. We have had two major accidents near our home and the only department responding to either was the Rock County Sheriff Department (they had several squads at both accidents in a very short time). The towns that do not have a police department do not pay any more for the Rock County Sheriff services than we do. Would it not make more sense to hire another deputy for the sheriff's office and the whole county share the cost? "beachsexton" mentioned the campgrounds in our area and that they would "warrant having a part time patrol for peak times". A few years ago our department lent out our squad to one of the campgrounds on weekends and holidays until the board stopped this practice. We have officers who can only work during the day on weekdays. (Their full time jobs are on nights.) Guess they could not be out "peak times". If we really needed this department wouldn't they be out more than 10% of the time and that being during the day on week days? If you are a town resident I encourage you to check on the west side of the Milton Fire Department and see if our squad is parked there or out on the road. Nine time out of ten it will be parked. Also, if you call the Milton Town Police you will more than likely get a message - not an officer. THE ROCK COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT DOES A WONDERFUL JOB. THEY ARE THERE FOR US 24 HOURS A DAY 7 DAYS A WEEK. We need to revaluate if we need this department or culd spend our tax dollars more wisely.

milton township is losing land and tax base to the city of milton. Having a police force is one step required for the township to incorperate into a city and keep or be able to increase its tax base. Right now the city of milton has control over much of milton townships zoning. Without this control, milton township will soon have the same issues as harmony... shrinking tax base as the city of janesville rolls over it. no tax base no revenue

Maybe they could have a co-op department with Janesville township.

Time to start a Harmony township P.D.

I encourage the two officers driving the same street to come drive down Newville and Kennedy Roads. We need officers to stop the teenage racing that occurs on these streets. Janesville officers don't do anything maybe Milton can help out where the city lines take over.

Milton Township's population must swell to the size of a small city in the summer. I do not know the exact numbers, but there are a few thousand people that come to the campgrounds and summer houses from Illinois each year. If the City of Milton has 2 officers patrolling like you say, then surely the township warrants having a part time patrol for peak times. We support you.

biggirl,
you are confusing the city of Milton with the town of Milton, the township PD is part time only.
to have the Sheriff's office patrol the town of Milton would cost money, probably a lot more than what they are paying for the current PD.

We do have duplications of services here. We have two police cruisers on duty at all times, and we also have a township police officer. On top of that, we have the Rock County sheriffs. If people want to evaluate this, I invite you to take a twenty-minute or so drive around the town. You'll often see at least two police vehicles, sometimes seemingly driving the same streets. (I'd like to have these police officers employed by Rock County, but that's a different story.)

Saying the department "lost money" is an odd way to evaluate it. I know that small departments often offset a lot of their funding through aggressive fines ("speed trap" is such a mean thing to say), but expecting it to cover its budget and then some is probably unrealistic. I don't think Janesville, for example, remotely evaluates its police funding that way.
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I also don't know that you can call it duplication of services. The point is to provide an overlay on top of what the sheriff's department -- which has to look after the entire county -- can provide.
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Still, obviously it's up to the town if they think they can AFFORD this.