No muss, no fuss: Rochester sticks with the sheriff

By Dave Fidlin

Correspondent

While its northerly neighbor is gearing up for a shake-up, officials in the Village of Rochester are planning a status-quo approach to public safety services in 2016.

With little discussion leading up to the motion, the Rochester Village Board on June 8 voted unanimously in favor of re-upping with the Racine County Sheriff’s Department as the municipality’s exclusive public safety provider.

Rochester’s decision runs in stark contrast to decisions made recently by the Village of Waterford. Officials in that municipality have opted to switch contracts, swapping out a longstanding relationship with the sheriff’s department in favor of working with the Town of Waterford.

Betty Novy, Rochester’s clerk-treasurer, said the village’s contract with the sheriff’s department closely mirrors the agreement that has been in place this year.

All of the existing terms and conditions remain the same, including provisions deputies provide the village with 1,800 hours of dedicated service within the course of a calendar year.

Outside the designated hours, deputies will be available on an on-call basis, similar to the arrangement set up with all municipalities across the county.

A small fee increase is anticipated next year. The total cost of the village’s contract with the sheriff clocks in at $107,472, representing a $139 increase from what the village is paying this year.

While the deputy is a contractor — not an outright employee — of the village, the local municipality will contribute toward a number of incidentals that closely mirror an employer-employee relationship. The arrangement has been in place in past years.

In addition to funding the designated deputy’s base salary of $67,075, the village will provide an additional $30,582 toward a variety of benefits, including $12,464 toward the Wisconsin Retirement System.