of times we take calls ….
of times we take calls in Colby and Abbotsford in the early morning because they don’t have staff. We’re late to our jobs because they’re not taking the calls,” trustee and Central Fire and EMS volunteer Julie Goldschmidt said.
One trustee said they should rotate the new equipment between stations but Goldschmidt said the last time the district got a new ambulance, it was supposed to be rotated through the three stations but it never happened.
“It’s all about who you are,” Goldschmidt said. “I get the feeling that we’re treated as a second-class station,” Carter said.
“Absolutely,” Goldschmidt agreed. “We have no say in anything but we just go do our jobs.”
Trustee Eric Klementson said if Dorchester wanted a say in things, they should show up to the Central Fire and EMS meetings to voice their opinions.
The board ultimately approved the ambulance but agreed they would make more of an effort to attend the Central Fire and EMS meetings in the future.
2023 budget
Taxes for residents of the village will largely see similar tax bills to their 2022 bill. The village added $52,597 in tax dollars to the 2023 budget but $51,000 of that money is being added from the TIF district improvements that were made throughout 2022.
The rest of the budget balanced with relatively little change to the 2022 budget. The street project fund will get a $10,000 boost for future projects. Money was saved for the squad car in 2022 and that money was taken out of the budget for 2023 as it is already paid for.
The municipal tax will account for less than 20 percent of the total tax levy that residents of Dorchester will experience in 2023 according to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.
Police officer
An agreement with the Clark County Sheriff’s Department to bring an officer to the area has not come to fruition as of yet.
The department, like a lot of other area departments, is short staffed and has struggled to get an officer to the northeast part of the county. However, Captain Wade Hebert made an appearance at the board meeting and he stated the department is currently on track to start providing an officer by February 2023.
“We’re still very much playing catch up on positions that people left a year ago,” Hebert said.
The board had budgeted $84,100 for contracted services through the Clark County Sheriff’s Office in 2023. Board member Daniella Schauer reiterated to Hebert that the village has been having issues with crime, loose dogs, ATVs and other issues and would like to see an officer in the area soon.
Hebert said the department has opened up patrol opportunities for those that would like overtime or cars who are in the area during shifts. He said help is on the way but he did not want to send an officer up that was not prepared to be handling issues on their own.
“I want somebody up here just as fast as you guys do,” Hebert said. “The field training process takes time. We want to make sure we’re getting you guys a good officer up here and we want to make sure we’re getting the right person up here.”
Right now, they have an officer that is training with other officers and working on patrols that has expressed interest in coming up to Dorchester as a full or close-to full time officer.
“The sad part is, people aren’t breaking down the door to get into this profession any more,” Hebert said. “Seventeen years ago, when I was looking to get into law enforcement, I’d go against two or three-hundred people to get one position. Now, we’re lucky to have four or five applicants for one position.”
The Dorchester squad car came in a few weeks ago according to Hebert. The squad will still need to be outfitted with all of the necessary equipment before it can be placed in the field.
The original agreement stated Dorchester would be paying 70 percent of the officer’s wages and benefits while the county picked up the other 30 percent. If Curtiss were to join in on the agreement, Dorchester would need to approve it but an original agreement said Curtiss would pay 20 percent of the officer’s wages and Dorchester’s bill would decrease to 50 percent.
Other business
n A Dorchester resident said during the public comment section that he had a few issues with the work that occurred on Second and Third Street. He said the streets themselves look nice but he had some issues with stakes being removed from his property that showed the property lines and had a few other issues he would like the board to look into.
n The lift station that is being put on County Hwy. A has a slight tilt and crookedness to it. Cooper Engineering’s Scot Balsavich said he noticed the error and will be contacting the contractor to get it fixed in the near future.
