Police chief asks for donations

The Colby-Abbotsford Police Commission and chief Jason Bauer sent a letter out to area businesses asking them to donate to the department to allow them to keep officers that might otherwise leave to explore other opportunities.

The letter, dated June 13, 2022 and signed by Bauer, told readers of the struggle of retaining officers in the current climate of law enforcement and overall employment. In the letter, Bauer says he is asking for $207,000 to cover the cost of officer wages through 2024.

The letter details a current situation that has led to the decision to ask for donations where the department had to replace a seven-year veteran of the department with an officer that needs to attend police recruit training yet. He said a few years ago, the department would get between 40 and 75 applications for one position but in recent years, they can’t find a sufficient number of candidates.

In an interview, Bauer said finding ways to increase revenue has been a struggle for awhile but simply raising taxes isn’t a solution.

“The problem I’m having is, I can’t simply just raise taxes to generate revenue to keep these [officers] around here,” Bauer said.

The State of Wisconsin sets levy limits that caps the amount of money that can be allocated to law enforcement services via property taxes. That number can be increased via a referendum but must be voted on and approved by those that live within the department’s jurisdiction.

Currently, officers make $27 per hour in 2022. Bauer says that number is $3-6 per hour lower than surrounding departments are offering their officers which is making it difficult to retain staff.

Bauer said this is a short-term fix but will give the department time to figure out a long-term solution.

“This is like a quick fix to retain the people we have,” Bauer said. “This is not a long term thing. The next chief is not going to be coming four years from now to ask for more money. It’s not an on-going project. It’s a temporary solution to retain the current officers.”

He mentioned that the goal would be to have a long-term fix in place by 2024 so that officers could be locked in at an increased wage whether that means a referendum or not.

President of the Colby-Abby Police Commission Todd Schmidt said asking for donations was a tool that is being used to keep current officers and draw in new ones.

“This is one way that we think we can retain our officers and perhaps, attract some,” Schmidt said. “Right now our pay scale is $4-5 per hour lower than the county for instance and lower than some of our neighboring communities. So we can’t do much else budget-wise other than try to solicit some donations to create some more income.”

When asked if this would potentially create a conflict of interest with businesses choosing either to opt in or opt out of donating money, Bauer insisted that businesses would not be profiled based on their willingness to donate.

“There will absolutely be no negative impact on police services for those who choose not to participate,” Bauer said.

Schmidt said the commission would have to look at alternative ways of either raising revenue or trimming the budget before the funds run out in 2024.

“An alternative that nobody seems to be in the favor of, is reducing the 24-hour coverage,” Schmidt said. “If we cut an officer, then we’d have a little more money to spread around. That’s not a popular decision, at least at this point. It might have to be something we’d have to look at down the road.”

Bauer said the cities could stop providing 24-hour service but that would cause longer waiting periods for 9-1-1 calls placed when there isn’t an officer on duty.

“The sheriff’s departments can’t even handle their own [calls],” Bauer said. “They rely on us. They have employee issues also. They’re shorthanded. Being situated where we are, if we have a [call] at 4 o’clock in the morning, you may have to wait an hour.”

Bauer said he has always been supportive of officers if they want to go and make more money with another department. He argued that offering competitive wages could mean that those officers wouldn’t have to seek other departments to get their desired pay.

“I’ve never held anybody back from trying to better themselves,” Bauer said. “I don’t want anybody working here that feels like they’re stuck here.”

Bauer detailed how, in the past, he has helped officers get jobs that appeal to them which has led to a CAPD alumni holding the Clark County Sheriff position and some heavily involved deputies in the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office.

He said ensuring these officers feel supported creates a great work environment at the CAPD that is replicated wherever officers choose to go next.

Schmidt said the department has been struggling with staffing for awhile and this tactic to curtail those struggles along with others have been in the works for awhile.

“We’ve been talking about this for several months,” Schmidt said. “The subject gets raised every time we interview for an officer and every time we extend the union contract. Wages are always an issue. We’re kind of restricted to what the wage rate is going to be or what the increase is going to be by budget limitations with revenue caps and everything.”

“We’ve lost a few officers to Clark and Marathon counties. During the exit interview, what we hear is, ‘Well, they’re paying $6-7 an hour more so it’s kind of an offer we can’t refuse,’” Schmidt said.

He reiterated that the solicitation of funds from local businesses avoids two unpopular outcomes for the foreseeable future. “To me, it’s an alternative to either raising taxes or cutting department hours,” Schmidt said. “Neither one are very popular subjects at this point.”

The department now awaits the response from community businesses before discussing the matter with area Colby and Abbotsford city councils. Bauer said he plans to inform department employees by July 22 of the progress of their efforts.