Jackson Police and Fire Commission continues candidate interviews, votes to enter closed session

The Jackson Police and Fire Commission continued candidate interviews to fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Lieutenant Todd Freestad and voted to enter a closed session under Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(c) on personnel matters, commission members said.

Commission members approved minutes from the Jan. 7, 2025, meeting before the staff update and the closed-session motion. During a staff update, the Police Chief said the commission is conducting interviews as applications arrive and is no longer waiting until the posting closes to begin screening candidates.

The update from the Police Chief emphasized immediate review of submissions: "When we receive applications, we review them immediately, and we schedule interviews if they meet our minimum requirements and pass, you know, our initial assessment of them," the Police Chief said. The Police Chief also told the commission the current procedures are working well.

Members recorded that Doug was reappointed for another term on the commission. A commissioner moved to approve the minutes from 01/07/2025, a second was recorded, and the motion passed. Later the commission read the closed-session citation and voted to go into closed session at about 6:04 p.m. under Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(c), which the commission said covers "considering employment, promotion, compensation, or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility."

Votes at a glance: - Approval of minutes (motion: "pass the minutes from 01/07/2025"): outcome approved; tally recorded as unanimous by the commission on the floor. Mover and seconder not specified in the record. - Motion to move into closed session under Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(c) (motion language read on the record): outcome approved; tally recorded as unanimous by the commission on the floor. Mover and seconder not specified in the record.

Discussion versus decision: the staff update and remarks from the Police Chief constituted discussion of hiring procedures and operational practice; the commission's formal decisions at the meeting were approval of the prior minutes and the vote to enter closed session. The commission recorded that interviews will continue to fill the vacancy left by Lieutenant Todd Freestad's retirement. Because the closed session was approved under the cited personnel statute, further deliberations held in that session were not disclosed in the public record.