County planners, sheriff and emergency managers update Chapter 7 of Marathon County comprehensive plan

Marathon County planning staff presented a working draft of Chapter 7 (Public Safety) of the county’s 10-year comprehensive plan during the Public Safety Committee meeting on April 1, seeking committee input before a more complete draft is returned later this year.

Laurie Muscimmons, director of Conservation, Planning and Zoning, told the committee the comprehensive-plan update is proceeding chapter-by-chapter with a goal of completing the plan by February 2026. Muscimmons said staff worked with the sheriff’s office and emergency management to refresh text, add references to updated plans and to include recently developed assets such as the regional forensic center.

Muscimmons noted operational updates to the chapter: the county’s next-generation 911 system came online in March in an initial stage; the sheriff’s office updated material on jail population and reliance on out-of-county housing; emergency management added hazard-mitigation and integrated-preparedness-plan references; and a new section on the regional forensic center was added.

Committee members and staff discussed continuing challenges: volunteer fire and EMS departments face recruitment and aging-volunteer issues, complicating coverage in large rural areas; the jail frequently operates near capacity and the county sometimes relies on other counties to house inmates; and staff retention and training pressures in the sheriff’s office remain a concern. Muscimmons said draft objectives are being refined to focus on items the county can influence and measure. Proposed objectives include encouraging coordination among public-safety departments to identify efficiencies that reduce jail population, using evidence-based approaches to address methamphetamine and heroin impacts, reducing recidivism and improving road-safety and disaster preparedness measures.

Several committee members pressed on municipal pushback to county-level consolidation of services. One member argued consolidation need not strip local control, but could give municipalities greater influence in a unified structure and create efficiency gains; others said municipal leaders value local accountability.

Muscimmons asked for written feedback from the committee and said staff will bring back a more complete chapter draft this summer. No formal action was taken.

Ending: The committee asked staff to continue refining objectives to those within county influence, incorporate data from Marathon County Pulse, and return with a complete draft for public review later this year.