Dorchester moves forward on contract
The village of Dorchester received some welcome news during its monthly baord meeting on Monday, with the village now one step closer to obtaining more regular services of Clark County law enforcement.
Clark County chief deputy Jim Hirsch told the Dorchester board that the county is almost done with the finer details of a contract with the village that would ensure a more routine police presence.
“We met with the county’s attorney and hashed things over just to get it done with,” Hirsch informed the board. “I know I have a signed copy by the sheriff as well as the county clerk to bring, so if you guys want to sign it, we can all get it taken care of today.”
The village has currently been without regular police protection since the resignation of longtime chief Gary Leichtman, who submitted his two-week notice via email on July 17, 2020, the same day as part-time officer Consuelo Maldonado- Rodriguez, who also emailed her notice of resignation.
Clark County has been providing law enforcement services, routinely sending officers to Dorchester to patrol the village and the area, says trustee Daniella Schauer.
“Someone has been driving through in the morning quite regularly,” Schauer said.
However, the village desires to have a more permanent police presence in the village. At the time of Leichtman and Maldonado-Rodriguez’s resignations, village officials had been mulling three options for law enforcement going forward: contracting with the Clark County Sheriff’s Department; contracting with the Colby-Abbotsford Police Department; or hiring one or more full-time officers to keep the Dorchester Police Department intact.
Ultimately the board settled on a contract with Clark County. Under the terms of the contract, the village of Dorchester and Clark County would split costs.
“We are paying 70 percent of the cost, and Clark County is paying 30 percent, which means that officer will work for Dorchester 70 percent of his/her hours and 30 percent for Clark County,” deputy clerk/treasurer Christie Erickson said in follow up comments via email.
“Wages and benefits are paid through Clark County. They will determine hourly rate and what type of benefits to offer.”
While the officer would patrol the village, Erickson said the officer would remain an employee with the county.
“We are not the employer of the officer who will work here, [we’re] just contracting services,” Erickson said.
Hirsch said he did have some concerns with the contract, specifically with the starting date of the contract.
“The one thing I kind of questioned was the start date has April 1 at the top, and that can be a little deceiving because that’s going to take longer to actually get an officer here, just because we have to fill that current position up at patrol.”
Hirsch said how soon an officer will be available for Dorchester will depend on how quickly several county candidates complete their training.
“The bad thing is we kind of have to backfill. We’re waiting for positions for someone to come here. I’m thinking end of summer, realistically. It all depends on how fast they train, it depends on their experience level and how fast they catch on. If they catch on fast, it could be a lot sooner. I’m hoping they’ll pass field training.”
Hirsch said the county is facing a deficit in terms of its police force. He told village officials that in the last month alone the county has seen two officers leave, and another retire, making the county two short on patrol.
“If we sign the contract now that will
Peace Lutheran
Church
leave us four short on patrol. We can’t operate like that,” Hirsch said.
“But the good news is in anticipation of the contract actually going through, I sent out an e-mail to all our patrol officers, and we do have interest in our current employees. That’s a good thing . . . it means they want to work here with enthusiasm.”
Hirsch said the incoming officer would not use the village’s current squad car, but with the contract signed, a positive for the village is Clark County officers will be able to enforce Dorchester’s village ordinances.
“It sounds like we’re on our way,” village president Kurt Schwoch said with relief.
Other business
_ The board approved a motion to allow both clerk/treasurer Susan Ballerstein and deputy clerk/treasurer Christie Erickson to attend the municipal clerks and treasurer’s institute the week of July 11-15.
This will be a virtual event, and the village’s office will be closed during this time.
_ The village made a motion to approve a resolution for a state trust fund loan not to exceed $335,000 for the purpose of financing street and storm water improvements.
_ The board approved the selling of the village’s squad car to the department of public works in the amount of $14,000.
_ The board approved a motion to move the village’s public depository funds from Nicolet Bank to Forward Bank. Forward Bank will be opening a branch in the village on March 15.
