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Police and Fire Commission ratifies Division Chief appointment, establishes firefighter eligibility list
Summary
At its March 17 meeting in New Berlin the Police and Fire Commission approved ending Division Chief Mark O’Connor’s probationary status and making his appointment permanent, heard Police Chief Jeff Hingiss outline 2026 goals, and established a one-year eligibility list for Firefighter/EMS candidates.
The Police and Fire Commission of New Berlin ratified a personnel recommendation and set a hiring list during its March 17, 2026 meeting at the Public Safety Building.
Division Chief Mark O’Connor’s probationary status was ended and his appointment made permanent after the commission voted 4-0 to ratify Fire Chief Mark Polzin’s recommendation. The motion to ratify was moved by Commissioner Michael D. O’Donnell and seconded by Commissioner Piontek.
Police Chief Jeff Hingiss distributed a document outlining five broad goals for the Police Department for 2026, reviewed accomplishments from 2025 and answered questions from the commissioners about some objectives. Commissioners commended Hingiss for departmental progress and his leadership roles in county, regional, state and educational law enforcement forums.
The commission also established an eligibility list for the position of Firefighter/EMS Personnel that includes Justin Buschmann, Dominic Clementi, Tyler Granados, Carlos Lopez and Brett Wudtke. The list is valid for one year. The minutes note that all newly hired personnel remain subject to the probationary period described in the prevailing Rules & Regulations of the City of New Berlin Police and Fire Commission. The motion to establish the list was moved by Commissioner Palechek and seconded by Commissioner Piontek and passed 4-0.
Other routine actions at the meeting included approval of the January 20, 2026 meeting minutes and approval of an invoice from Fire & Police Selection, Inc. for $525.00 for online FACT test credits for the Fire Department; both motions passed 4-0. The commission met briefly in closed session under Wis. Stat. § 19.85(1)(c) to consider personnel matters and returned to open session before taking the ratification and list actions. The meeting adjourned at 2:58 PM.
