Sparks flew at Madison’s Board of Estimates Meeting Tuesday night over the introduction of a non-traditional assessment of homelessness as well as Madison Police Department’s capital budget presentation.
The board’s meeting addressed several central funding issues concerning an expansion of the police force, followed by presentations by city-based agencies on the capital budget.
MPD insists on pressing need for new station
The most passionate discussion of the evening involved police business.
Police chief, Mike Koval, opened his presentation by addressing a concern MPD has maintained for several years, the need for a Midtown Police Station on Madison’s near west side.
“We are nowhere near where we should be,” Koval said. “Feet have been dragging and we are not getting things done.”
More than twice as many people are served in the West District compared to the other districts, Officer Jay Lengfeld, North District captain, said.
For the last 30 years, MPD’s policing has been based around a decision to decentralize, Lengfeld said.
“We made the decision to decentralize, to break into smaller units to become part of the community,” Lengfeld said.
By serving such large quantities of people with a single police station, MPD as become more centralized, Lengfeld said.
The new station would require $1.8 million to complete, a number that puts MPD over their allotted budget for the 2016 fiscal year. This raised concerns about funding amongst board members.
Despite the heated discussion concerning the monetary components of the new station, McKinney refocused the conversation on the potential benefits for the community.
“We have to begin to look at the individuals that you are to protect and serve. We have to look at the quality of the service,” McKinney said. “There needs to be some way for us to say that the people matter.”
The discussion ended without resolution. Currently, the proposed new station project is slated for a date beyond 2021.
Assessment of homeless, jobless or disaffected individuals
The board voted to move forward with a proposition to partner with the Nehemiah Center for Urban Leadership and Development.
The city will give the center $25,000 to do an assessment that will determine what homeless, jobless or disaffected individuals need in Madison. The process to give these funds has bypassed some of the traditional means to creating partnerships in order to expedite the process.
While this partnership is different than any previous attempt at combating these problems in the community, the Nehemiah Center has experience working with individuals that traditional agencies and non-profits have trouble reaching, Mayor Paul Soglin said.
“We are going to have to do this ourselves,” Soglin said. “We have to be creative, and we have to be decisive.”
Ald. Barbara McKinney, District 1, challenged Soglin’s proposal and asked whether the city needs to complete another assessment instead of giving the funds to an organization that will apply the funds directly.
Soglin, a co-sponsor of the proposal, adamantly supported the partnership.
“This is not just another study,” Soglin said. “It’s an assessment by an organization who can tell us what it’s going to take to get into the field and get results.”
The proposal passed by one vote.
MPD permitted to receive funding for mental health program expansion
The city also passed a motion allowing MPD, should they receive a federal grant from the Justice and Mental Collaboration Program, to accept the funds to create a Mental Health Outreach, Referral and Engagement Team.
The grant would allow MPD to hire a new sergeant to oversee the five current mental health officers, as well as fund a clinician from the Journey Mental Health Center for two years.
The proposal also includes a partnership with University of Wisconsin Sociology Department, which will look at the effectiveness of the program during the duration of the two years, Sue Williams, MPD assistant chief of support services, said.
