Fitchburg commission hears police staffing shortfalls; authorizes conditional offers to three officer candidates

At the July 15, 2026 meeting of the Fitchburg Police and Fire Commission, Police Chief Morales said the department is still filling gaps in sworn staffing and the commission voted to authorize the chief to extend conditional offers to three police officer candidates.

Chief Morales told the commission the department has “3 vacancies, 3 at the law enforcement academy… We have 3 unrestricted duty, that gives us 10 unfilled positions.” He also said the department is working to correct problems with citizen-generated calls for service after its first full year without a dispatch service, warning that some calls are not being recorded accurately and that staff are reviewing data and procedures.

The chief reviewed monthly incident counts: one reported burglary, one vehicle theft, one shots-fired incident (the subject was taken into custody), six firearms seized and one robbery tied to a drug offense. He also reported 13 domestic violence incidents for the month and described crash-report totals submitted to the state.

After the report the commission moved into closed session under Wisconsin law for personnel matters and then returned to open session. The commission then moved and seconded a motion authorizing the police chief to make conditional offers of employment to three police officer candidates; the motion passed by voice vote with no members recorded as opposed.

Chair Sean Baxter presided throughout and noted there were no public speakers at this meeting. The commission did not record a roll-call vote in the public record beyond the voice vote on the motion.

The commission’s next steps are for the chief to proceed with the conditional-offer process subject to background checks and any other pre-employment requirements; the meeting adjourned following routine announcements.