Big Bend residents spoke out during public comment in effort to save police department
BIG BEND, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Frustrated Big Bend residents showed up in great numbers at a village board meeting on Thursday, Oct. 5, as a grass roots effort to save their police department continues.
This comes one month after trustees voted to disband it.
Over 40 residents spoke out during the public comment potion of the meeting, every one of them expressed big issues with Big Bend voting to disband their police force. They talked about public safety, saying they feel supported by the hometown feel of their officers. Some recognized budget savings, but they urged the board to look for other ways to save and leave the police department intact.
Some of the comments from people who spoke out include:
You guys are a disgrace!"
"This was so vague. You're back door'ing us, said Mark Anderson, A Big Bend business owner.
"The board will go down in history as a board who eliminated our police department," said Sadie Soneberg, former Big Bend library director.
"The contract cars that you guys are hoping to hire will be pulled out of here. They will have to go save somebody else because that's what law enforcement does," said one woman who said Waukesha County will not be able to provide the same level of services that Big Bend police do.
The majority who voted to disband the police force say it's all about the budget. In fact, tonight, in a room where the meeting was being held, they wrote all the numbers on a white board, showing the village budget at $1.5 million, and showing how they'll save $260 thousand if they go with a shared contract with Vernon.
The Waukesha County Sheriff's Department had a few representatives in attendance, and they said that to date, they haven't yet signed a contract.
We heard from a representative of the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department, saying one reason Sheriff Severson was not present at the meeting was so that it couldn't be construed that he was placing undue influence on their decision.
The representative was asked about response times, something residents say that their fear would greatly increase if the sheriff's department takes over police services for Big Bend. The representative says Waukesha County does not track response times, and the current software does not allow for that.
The "contracted services" squad car would be stationed in Big Bend. It would go between Big Bend and Vernon, and the response times would be in accordance with that radius.
Waukesha County presently covers all policing services for the following communities: Lisbon, Sussex, City of Pewaukee, Village of Merton, Village of Vernon and Town of Delafield.
The sheriff's department representative told board members they have a track record of doing this kind of service and says it's a testament to their success because these communities have stuck with the sheriff's department as long as they have.