Police and Fire Commission chair Danielle Long warns of steep fall in police applicants

Danielle Long, chair of the Police and Fire Commission, told the Wauwatosa City Government Affairs Committee on March 10 that the commission interviewed 10 police officer candidates in 2025, down from 21 in 2024, and that 10 candidates were placed on the eligibility list with five hires and three retained (one pending) as of Feb. 11.

“To me, that’s not good news,” Danielle Long said, urging the council to note the decline in applicants and retention. Long, who presented the PFC’s annual report, described the commission’s role under state statute 62.13 in setting candidate qualifications, overseeing recruitment and conducting disciplinary hearings.

Long also summarized joint firefighter hiring. A joint spring process received 81 applicants with 49 interviewed across participating departments; the PFC held 12 interviews in February 2025 and five firefighters were hired for the Joint Fire Academy. Internship pipelines produced several hires: multiple intern cycles resulted in some interns joining the fire academy and later being hired.

City staff and department representatives told the committee the drop in police applicants reflects broader labor-market pressures and limits in academy capacity. An agency official said the department has pursued front-end changes to attract applicants, including targeted outreach to lateral officers, streamlined application documentation, increased marketing and job-fair recruitment. “We’re also doing more marketing, more incentivizing for both our tenured employees, also bringing people in the door,” the official said.

Staff described why some steps occur after a conditional offer: the formal psychological evaluation is performed after a conditional offer because of costs and coordination with background checks. Long and staff also described changes to assessment-center scheduling (reduced from a full day to a half-day) and the use of lateral hiring to speed recruitment.

The report listed recent promotions across the departments and personnel changes: Officer Michael Lehman to sergeant; Lieutenant Katie Gerak to captain; Sergeant Abby Pavlik to lieutenant; Detective Brian Wade; Officer Alejandro Patnode to sergeant; Officer George Opelt to sergeant; Detective Daniel Bichel; Officer Dexter Schlee appointed community sports specialist; Sergeant Jacob Grosnick to lieutenant; firefighter Brandon Shouse promoted in September 2025; Lieutenant Travis Padgett promoted in March 2025; Captain Ryan Stanwood promoted in January 2025. The commission also noted the retirement of Chief Case in January and that the PFC approved AC Barb Kadrich as interim chief on Nov. 19, 2025.

Committee members pressed presenters on whether non-sworn roles and civilian positions are being used to broaden the applicant pool. Alder Phillips noted the department’s CSO (community service officer) program and asked whether other non-sworn innovations are emerging. Presenters said CSOs have helped retention and recruitment in some cases and that internships and internal task-force opportunities can attract candidates who later pursue sworn roles.

The committee did not take formal action on the report. The meeting moved on after members thanked the commissioners for the presentation.