Police and fire updates: Muskego reports officer vacancies and strong rescue response times
May 19, 2026 | Muskego City, Waukesha County, Wisconsin
This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »
Muskego's Public Works & Safety Committee heard staffing and response-time updates from both police and fire department leaders.
Police: Chief Westfall told the committee the department is "still four officers down currently as of today," and announced Officer Jerude Sigree recently graduated from the academy and has begun field training; two candidates, Zach Burrow and Elizabeth Allander, have accepted conditional offers and will start the academy in July. The chief said he will schedule formal swearing-ins with council once field training is complete and asked for flexibility to hire above authorized slots where merited.
Fire: Marty and Phil from the fire department presented call-log summaries and response-time breakdowns. Marty summarized rescue-response performance: of rescue calls, crews were out the door in under one minute for 301 calls; an additional 80 calls were under two minutes, 32 under three minutes, and others under four and five minutes; 29 calls exceeded five minutes, which staff said were mainly mutual aid or long-distance responses. The presenters noted long responses to incidents such as an egg-farm call (about a 40-minute drive) when crews were also stretched by a serious highway accident that required landing a medical flight.
The committee discussed making these reports regular; members proposed quarterly or semiannual briefings so council and the public can monitor staffing and response performance. The chief also listed upcoming public-safety events and community engagements, including Memorial Day services, Special Olympics participation and July 3rd staffing plans.
Why it matters: staffing shortfalls affect patrol capacity; simultaneous large incidents can stretch resources and influence response times to distant mutual-aid calls. Committee members and staff agreed to continued reporting and coordination with the consultant reviewing department operations.
No formal committee action was recorded on staffing or call-log reporting beyond agreement to continue periodic updates.
Police: Chief Westfall told the committee the department is "still four officers down currently as of today," and announced Officer Jerude Sigree recently graduated from the academy and has begun field training; two candidates, Zach Burrow and Elizabeth Allander, have accepted conditional offers and will start the academy in July. The chief said he will schedule formal swearing-ins with council once field training is complete and asked for flexibility to hire above authorized slots where merited.
Fire: Marty and Phil from the fire department presented call-log summaries and response-time breakdowns. Marty summarized rescue-response performance: of rescue calls, crews were out the door in under one minute for 301 calls; an additional 80 calls were under two minutes, 32 under three minutes, and others under four and five minutes; 29 calls exceeded five minutes, which staff said were mainly mutual aid or long-distance responses. The presenters noted long responses to incidents such as an egg-farm call (about a 40-minute drive) when crews were also stretched by a serious highway accident that required landing a medical flight.
The committee discussed making these reports regular; members proposed quarterly or semiannual briefings so council and the public can monitor staffing and response performance. The chief also listed upcoming public-safety events and community engagements, including Memorial Day services, Special Olympics participation and July 3rd staffing plans.
Why it matters: staffing shortfalls affect patrol capacity; simultaneous large incidents can stretch resources and influence response times to distant mutual-aid calls. Committee members and staff agreed to continued reporting and coordination with the consultant reviewing department operations.
No formal committee action was recorded on staffing or call-log reporting beyond agreement to continue periodic updates.
View the Full Meeting & All Its Details
This article offers just a summary. Unlock complete video, transcripts, and insights as a Founder Member.
✓
Watch full, unedited meeting videos
✓
Search every word spoken in unlimited transcripts
✓
AI summaries & real-time alerts (all government levels)
✓
Permanent access to expanding government content
30-day money-back guarantee
