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 have not seen a substantial improvement, in terms of response times,” Leonard said, adding that dispatch protocol changes were made to try to improve times.

Committee members pressed on the possibility of consolidated county-level EMS. Leonard said the county lacks legal authority to take on fire response under Wisconsin statute and noted the complexity of staffing and funding a consolidated system; he said some Wisconsin counties have taken that approach but most have not. A committee member who supports consolidation argued that a unified model could improve accountability, efficiency and purchasing power.

On criminal-justice workload and counsel shortage, Leonard reported that the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) produced recommendations in 2023 about the shrinking private bar list for county appointments and interim billing; the clerk of courts and finance staff implemented interim billing so appointed attorneys need not wait until a case closes to submit bills. Leonard said courts have also begun pre-appointment outreach so attorneys can decline cases before formal appointment, reducing downstream delays.

Health & Human Services staff reported on secondary outcome measures (3.3, 3.7 and 7.2). Lance (HHS staff) said emergency mental-health detentions — the committee’s metric tied to law-enforcement contacts leading to involuntary holds — have fallen since 2016 (nearly 500 in 2016 to about 225 in 2023), though preliminary 2024 figures were higher (about 339, tentative) and will be investigated further. He tied longer-term declines to crisis response programs, training for law enforcement and the crisis assessment response team.

Jess (Health Department) described Marathon County’s suicide-death review team, a multiagency panel that reviews suicide cases to identify prevention opportunities. She said the county collects detailed social and clinical information from cases to run customized analyses; the county’s suicide counts have been relatively steady, with a 2021 baseline of 21, a high of 26 in 2023 and a preliminary 2024 number of 25.

On overdose deaths, HHS staff reported a peak in 2022 of 24, falling to 16 in 2023 and 13 in 2024 so far, with a number of pending toxicology results. Other metrics discussed included the county Life Report survey item about residents not seeing a needed mental-health provider (rising from 19% to 23% across the plan period) and youth nonmedical prescription use (current value ~8%; strategic goal 3%). Staff pointed committee members to Marathon County Pulse for the underlying data and to ongoing efforts such as expanded psychiatry residency access through the medical college and continued work with North Central Healthcare.

Committee members raised questions about childcare capacity, graduation-rate measurement (data come from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and do not include homeschooling), and out-of-home placement days for children. Leonard said out-of-home placement days decreased about 8% from 2023 to 2024, in part tied to Family First Prevention Services Act–aligned local interventions and the county’s Family Keys program.

No formal committee action was taken on the strategic-plan review at this meeting. Staff said the county board’s comprehensive-plan update this year will inform a new five-year strategic plan for adoption next year.

The committee asked staff to return with corrected 2023/2024 response-time data from the sheriff’s office and with any white paper from the CJCC regarding counsel shortages if the committee wants to pursue advocacy options.

Ending: The committee concluded the strategic-plan segment after questions and directed staff to provide follow-up detail on data anomalies and to bring forward any requested CJCC materials.