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Police and EMS seek training capacity and new roles; EMS deputy chief included in proposed budget
Summary
Police asked for a dedicated training officer and two community service officers to improve universal training and boost quality-of-life enforcement; EMS detailed AED replacements, ambulance plans and supported the proposed EMS deputy chief position.
Police leadership told the committee that Middleton needs a dedicated training officer to establish a formal training division and ensure consistent, department-wide practices. "A city our size, we need to have a police department that has a training division," the presenter said, noting liability risks tied to inconsistent training and the recruitment value of community service officers (CSOs). The department requested two part-time CSO positions to support multimodal enforcement, parking enforcement and quality-of-life responses.
The police capital request included standardizing duty firearms for all officers and installing digital traffic signs to share field data with elected officials.
EMS leadership described capital needs to replace remaining AED units and to improve exterior station security and listed an anticipated $47,000 increase in the ambulance replacement line to address inflation and manufacturer pricing. EMS staff supported the new EMS deputy chief position included in the proposed budget to provide organizational redundancy and succession planning.
Committee members expressed support for the training and CSO concepts and discussed possible funding sources, including recycled-fee or wheel-tax proposals. Staff emphasized that any budgeted union settlements and compensation study implementation would be funded from the contingency pool.
