Muskego police chief outlines staffing goals, recruitment plans and ongoing contract talks

The Police Chief told the Police and Fire Commission he is focused this year on officer presence, improving staffing and refining departmental processes, noting the department is "currently without a contract as of January 1" as contract talks continue.

The update, delivered during the commission's regular meeting, outlined recruitment and training steps the department is pursuing and the staffing picture the chief says the city must address. "The reason why people move here to Muskego and stay here is for the school district's relatively low taxes and ultimately things that are mentioned that we are 1 of the safest cities continuously," the Police Chief said, using that context to press the need for visible, approachable officers.

The chief described two candidate pools: a small sworn candidate pool and a larger non‑sworn candidate pool. He said two officers, "Officer Primus, and officer Lehi," remain in the department's field training program and are "approximately 15% ish through their field training." He noted the department's authorized strength is 51 total positions — "10 civilians, 41 sworn" — and said the department is functioning with one vacancy at present. The chief said he plans to ask the HR director to authorize temporary increases above the current sworn authorization to accommodate candidates in training.

To broaden recruitment, the chief said staff will attend criminal justice programs at UW Oshkosh and UW Platteville to reach May graduates. He also described operational adjustments and said he has spoken with Mayor Petfelski about "the opportunity for public safety referendum" as one option to address longer‑term staffing and presence needs.

On labor negotiations, the chief said the city and police union held another round of talks last week and that the parties are "picking up in terms of negotiations." He identified March 4 as the next sit‑down meeting and said some offers may be exchanged by email prior to that date.

The chief warned that sending recruits through the academy raises questions about payback and the source of state funds. "Some of it's with the state where the money comes from, so we have to be cautious," he said, describing discussions with the HR director on how to manage academy costs and retention concerns.

The commission's members asked whether commitments exist to send recruits through the academy; the chief replied that no firm commitments have been implemented yet and reiterated the complexity of payback arrangements and state funding rules.

The chief closed by summarizing the year's three priorities — presence, staffing, and process improvement — and said staff will continue recruitment efforts and training. The commission moved next to a closed session to interview candidates for police officer positions.