EM Village Board approves 2017 levy, delays creating position for full-time police chief

By Cara L. Dempski

ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound village board passed a $302,723 tax levy for 2017 during its November 16 meeting as part of its ongoing debate over hiring a new full-time police chief.

The board decided to delay further discussion of creating a position for full-time head for the police department until a levy was approved.

The levy was passed despite the fact a budget summary has not yet been released to taxpayers. The move counters Wisconsin statute 65.90(1), which states “every municipality shall annually, prior to the determination of the sum to be financed in whole or in part by a general property tax, funds on hand or estimated revenues from any source, formulate a budget and hold public hearings thereon.”

Village clerk Pat Hahn stated after the meeting that the public budget hearing is scheduled for December 22, and a budget has been created but is not ready for public release.

State statute indicates a budget summary and notice of the budget hearing must be publicly posted and/or published no less than 15 days prior to the scheduled hearing.

The board had three suggested levy amounts to choose from at the November 16 meeting. The lowest amount, $292,723, allows for a $10,000 general contingency to handle any unexpected expenses, and the amount settled on eliminated the contingency funds in favor of adding $20,000 to hire a police chief.

The third amount, $312,723, allowed for both a contingency fund and money to staff the chief’s office.

Board member and public safety committee chairman Tom Gilbert addressed the board and informed those present that the employee relations and public safety committees had created a plan for a full-time police chief, and both committees recommended the $312,723 levy to fund the salary of full-time department head.

Terry Stamm, a board member who at one time occupied the police chief’s office, expressed concern about asking village residents to pay extra money on their property taxes. He stated he had spoken with several people in Elk Mound who were not willing to see their taxes rise.

Stamm also said the largest levy amount was concerning because it represented an increase of more than 10 percent of the 2016 and would therefore be outside the village’s allowable increase limit for levies.

Village president Andy Peterson stated the tax levy increase would be approximately $69 per $100,000 of property value. Gilbert pointed out that many people already living in the village consider the extra money a good value when considering the community has been without full-time law enforcement since former police chief Randy Bartelt retired in 2013.

Another board member, Greg Kipp, said he had done research for Wisconsin communities of comparable size to Elk Mound and found salaries for full-time law enforcement started at $31,200 annually. He voiced a similar concern to Stamm’s in that it would be too costly to hire a police chief at a starting wage of over $20 per hour.

Current police chief Travis Hakes works 20 hours a week for his position and is a full-time patrol officer in the nearby village of Lake Hallie. He clarified numbers for the board, stating that a starting wage for a police chief is automatically higher than starting wages for patrol officers, and the numbers Kipp quoted represented a mean salary for sworn law enforcement officers.

Gilbert asked the board where the money allocated for the police chief’s salary in previous budgets had gone since the retirement of the last police chief and no one on the village board was able to provide a definitive answer. Stamm, Kipp and Peterson all said the money had been allocated to a variety of other things covered by the general fund.

The board was not left without a ray of hope, though, as Stamm allowed that there were not significant changes in the other levies Elk Mound taxpayers feed into.

“The good news in this is that the other four entities that make up the tax dollars have pretty much held their own,” he stated.

President Andy Peterson said any emergency financial needs could come from the other items covered by the general fund, since the committees rounded up their proposed budget amounts to allow for a financial cushion.

With the question of the tax levy settled, the village board will again take up the possibility of returning to a full-time police chief in a future meeting.