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Police chief tells council data show rising demand; asks for 5 officers and a dispatcher
Summary
Muskego Police Chief presented calls-for-service, arrest and crash trends and warned of overtime and staffing shortfalls; he asked the council to include five police officers and a dispatcher in the referendum funding plan to restore minimum staffing.
Muskego's police chief told the Committee of the Whole that patrol staffing has become reactive rather than proactive and that the department needs five officers and a dispatcher to restore basic service benchmarks.
"I need 5 officers and a dispatch to augment my shifts," the chief said, urging the council that the proposed referendum would help the department increase minimum manpower from four to five officers per shift. The chief showed multi‑year calls-for-service, arrests and crash data and said rescue and overtime calls are rising; he added that several homicide and fatal-crash investigations in the previous year stretched staff resources.
The chief also noted that even if officers are approved and hired, academy and training timelines mean new officers would not reach full road duty until 2028, and that overtime use for 2026 already exceeds authorized levels. Council members asked for detailed per-department cost breakdowns tied to the referendum figure; the mayor agreed packet materials would be provided to clarify the police share of the $5.9 million request.
Provenance: topicintro SEG 1337, topfinish SEG 1550.
