Hortonville swears in Brian Barr as police chief; board approves job description and contract

The Village of Hortonville Village Board on Jan. 16, 2025, approved an updated police chief job description and a contract agreement and then administered the oath of office to Brian Barr as the village’s new police chief.

The approvals came during the board’s regular meeting after a brief discussion of a requested addition to the job description asking for “timely communication to the village board regarding any issues we need to be informed of before it would go out into the public.” The board approved the job description “with the changes noted from Eugene Gwen,” and later approved the chief’s contract. Both motions passed on roll call votes.

Todd Timm, district administrator of the Hortonville Area School District, addressed the board during the public comment period to thank the board and Administrator Nathan for the promotion and to describe Barr’s work with the district. Timm said Barr served as the district’s school resource officer for 15 years, representing about 4,400 students and some 700 employees, and praised Barr’s work on safety planning, Department of Justice drills, mental-health and trauma teams and coordination with regional first responders. "To watch this board and administrator promote someone who has dedicated his professional life to kids and parents and community members is exciting," Timm said.

Following the approvals, the board administered the oath of office to Brian Barr. During the ceremony Barr recited the oath and "do solemnly swear" language before the board.

The board’s approvals put the updated job description and the contract in place immediately, and the swearing-in formalized Barr’s appointment as chief of police for the Hortonville Police Department.

The meeting record shows the actions carried by voice/roll call votes; individual vote tallies by member name were not read into the public record beyond the roll-call affirmations that the motions carried.