Success could lead to more collaboration between town, village
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
With the second year well underway, officials in the village and town of Waterford have gone on record touting the town’s policing of the village since early 2016.
After years of stalled efforts, the Village Board in spring 2015 made the controversial decision to unwind a decades-old arrangement of having the Racine County Sheriff’s Department provide the municipality with exclusive public safety services.
Citing such factors as cost savings, the Village Board instead opted to contract with the town and have its long-running department patrol the community. The contractual arrangement began Jan. 1, 2016.
A document in the Village Board’s April 9 packet indicated the village-town relationship has gone well.
“I expected bumps in the road,” said Village President Tom Roanhouse, who is stepping down from his leadership post after losing a bid for re-election earlier this month.
Roanhouse, who made the comment in a written statement said, “This type of change can have many challenges, but I’ve been very pleased with the transition. I believe the entire board would agree that this relationship has exceeded expectations.”
Town Chairman Tom Hincz has supported the arrangement from the get-go. At intergovernmental meetings in recent years, Hincz has gone on record in support of exploring ways the two Waterfords can pool resources.
In the document, Hincz said, “The transition and ongoing cooperation between the town and village is healthy and positive. We’ll continue to look at collaborative opportunities.”
The document, which looks back on the first year of the new arrangement, also states police officers have been pleased with the relationship. The town increased staffing to accommodate the increased patrol areas, and the village is paying the town for the additional sworn officers.
For the time being, the Waterford Police Department is without an official police chief. Tom Ditscheit, who long held the role, retired in late 2016. Cpt. Matt Johnson is assuming Ditscheit’s duties and could be promoted to police chief later this year.
See more local news in this week’s print edition of the Waterford Post.
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