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Howe will decide on Milton chief

MILTON — A new face on the Milton Police Commission will help pick the Milton Police Department’s next chief.

The Milton City Council appointed Marlys Howe to the commission Monday after longtime member Glenn Skatrud resigned earlier this month.

“I’ve been on that commission for very close to 10 years, and there were so many things going on besides my own work that I thought it was time to step aside,” Skatrud said Wednesday.

Skatrud said there was no particular issue that caused him to resign.

But Skatrud’s resignation letter to commission Chairman Stephen Tupper indicates disagreement between Skatrud and Tupper.

“This letter is a follow-up to your ‘explosion’ at our last police commission meeting,” Skatrud wrote Feb. 5. The last meeting had been Jan. 31.

“Since this is not the first time I have ‘brushed’ your hair the wrong way, I have decided that I do not want to continue having that sort of relationship with you,” he continued.

Skatrud declined to comment on what triggered the “explosion.”

Tupper declined to comment about the letter or Skatrud’s resignation.

The police commission has the responsibility to appoint the department’s next chief after the resignation of Chief Tom Gilland took effect Jan. 7.

City officials are considering rehiring Gilland, who became eligible to enter into a contract with the city Feb. 7. The city council created a draft contract for Gilland at its January meeting to be offered if the commission appoints him, and it discussed the issue again Monday.

The Milton Police Commission is scheduled to meet at 7:30 a.m. Thursday at the Shaw Municipal Building.

Howe has 15 years of experience in the criminal justice system, including six years as a probation/parole officer, according to her resume. She is currently director of the domestic violence unit at the Dane County District Attorney’s Office.