MILTON TOWNSHIP — The Milton town chairman gave a citizens committee black-and-white questions about the town’s police department and court, but the committee didn’t always find black-and-white answers, it wrote in its report.
The town lacks a job description for the police chief and the town’s police officers, making it difficult for the committee to determine what would happen if the town eliminated the department, it wrote.
Chairman Bryan Meyer appointed the committee in May to study the police department and court. A group of residents asked the town to hold a referendum about eliminating the departments at the annual town meeting in April.
The committee found the town has several options if it chooses to dissolve or change the police department, including:
-- Reducing the department to a single member whose job would be to enforce town ordinances.
-- Contracting with another law enforcement group such as the Rock County Sheriff’s Office, Town of Fulton Police Department or City of Milton Police Department to patrol Milton Township.
-- Hiring an off-duty police officer to have on-call as needed.
The town could contract with another municipality, such as Rock County or the city of Milton, to handle court matters, the committee found. If it used the county court system, the county would charge $5 for each citation processed and would not return the fine money.
Larry Clift, committee chairman, suggested the town board create a clear job description for its police officers and chief. Then, the board could decide if it wants to keep the department the same, eliminate some job duties or pass duties off to other people or organizations.
“Establishing the priorities is what I think it really boils down to,” Clift said.
The town board will discuss the report and a potential referendum at its meeting Monday. The board has until July 29 to schedule a referendum for the September primary election and Sept. 24 to schedule a referendum for the November general election, County Clerk Lori Stottler said.
Meyer said he’s not opposed to a referendum, but he wanted the town board to know all the options before discussing it.
“I’ve never disagreed with the interest in having a referendum, but I didn’t agree with just blindly holding one just because there was a request for one and not knowing what it would serve,” he said.
He said he’s confident the town board now has the facts to make an educated vote.
“If the town board votes Monday night to initiate a referendum, they should feel competent that they understand what they’re doing,” he said. “Not only why, but what they’re doing.”
IF YOU GO
What: Milton Town Board meeting.
When: 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Where: Milton Town Hall, 23 First St., Milton.
FINDINGS
Here are some other findings from the committee appointed to study the Town of Milton Police Department:
-- The police chief puts in about 1,300 hours a year (25 hours a week). When the department is at its full staff of three officers (besides the chief), those officers put in about 850 hours a year. That puts an officer on duty about 25 percent of the time.
-- Chief Tom Kunkel handles many responsibilities not normally associated with police work. He receives $1,000 a year to serve as zoning enforcement officer. He also handles town hall rentals, runs background checks on bartender license applications and records town hall meetings. In the past, he has served as peacekeeper during tax disputes and purchased and installed the town’s computer system, he wrote in a memo to the committee.
He has not had a pay raise since 1996, he wrote. He receives $7,500 a year, including the $1,000 for zone enforcement. He also receives an additional $1,200 a year to clean town hall.