Public Safety Committee reviews 2018 strategic-plan outcomes; mixed results on response times, mental-health measures

The Marathon County Public Safety Committee on April 1 reviewed the county's 2018 strategic plan (revised 2023) and heard updates on outcome measures through 2024, including emergency response times, emergency mental-health detentions, suicide and overdose counts, and other public-health and safety indicators.

Committee Vice Chair Dickinson opened the presentation and asked department staff to walk the committee through outcome measures that were due to have been met by the end of 2024. Administrator Leonard and Health & Human Services staff summarized the data and the county’s ongoing efforts to address the measures.

The committee heard that the single primary objective assigned to the committee, Objective 7.1 — to “provide cost-effective and high-quality public safety services” — produced limited measurable improvement in emergency response times. Administrator Leonard said he met with Chief Deputy Millhausen, who was unable to attend the meeting, and that the sheriff’s office is still finalizing its 2024 response data. Leonard characterized the pattern this way: response times are substantially faster in municipal, fully staffed departments that operate 24/7, and slower in rural areas served by volunteer or contracted services. “We…