Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Trustees back exploratory fundraising for single-purpose police K9 to aid drug detection
Summary
Police Chief Pete Vergos told trustees the department will seek permission to begin fundraising for a single-purpose drug-detection and tracking K9; trustees expressed general support and asked about training, vehicle needs and ongoing costs.
Police Chief Pete Vergos told the North Fond du Lac Board of Trustees Sept. 15 that the department is exploring adding a single-purpose K9 trained for drug detection and tracking and requested permission to begin fundraising and accepting donations for the effort.
Vergos said the department relies on county K9 units now but officers "are not able to lengthen the stop to wait for the K9," so a village-owned dog would allow quicker on-scene response. He said the department aims to raise 100% of start-up costs and would seek donations to cover food, insurance, stipends and veterinary care, while acknowledging some ongoing costs may be added to future budgets.
Trustees asked about vehicle accommodations, the specific drug-detection training the dog would receive, and whether neighboring jurisdictions could use the K9 through mutual aid; Vergos said the unit would be available for mutual aid and the dog would be assigned to a single officer scheduled on high-need cover shifts.
The board expressed comfort with staff continuing exploratory work and fundraising; no formal appropriation or final decision was made at the Sept. 15 meeting.
