By Chris Vetter
The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
ELK MOUND, Wis. — Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes sees a great value in the village of Elk Mound having its own police department. Hakes served as the part-time Elk Mound police chief from 2013 to 2017, working 20 hours a week there while also working full time as a Lake Hallie officer.
The Elk Mound Public Safety Committee voted unanimously Friday on a recommendation to disband the police department, and they sent the proposal to the Elk Mound Village Board for consideration. The village would instead contract with the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office for local law enforcement.
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Hakes believes the plan is a mistake.
“I think it’s important to maintain and establish a village presence,” Hakes told the Leader-Telegram on Monday. “You want to have a local face, and you’ll have quicker response times. And people get to know the (officers).”
Hakes said a local officer can handle small matters that don’t rise to the level of an arrest. Hakes said the Elk Mound officers enforce local ordinances. Hakes noted that in his four years as chief, he lived in Elk Mound , and it was valuable to have his presence in the village, even when he was off duty. The village eventually made the chief position a full-time job, but Hakes left to take a full-time job in Chetek .
While Hakes thinks it’s a bad idea to close the police department, he noted that New Auburn used to have its own sworn officer, but the village now has a contract with the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Department to provide coverage, and he contends that relationship has worked well.
Elk Mound resident Brandon Smith has lived in the village since 1993, and he believes it’s important to have the police presence.
“I’ve never really known it to not have a police chief. I don’t want my kids to grow up here and not have a familiar face,” Smith said Monday. “I want to see the small-town traditions kept.”
Smith noted that Dunn County is geographically large, and there could easily be a scenario when the officers on duty are in other corners of the county and not able to quickly respond to a call to Elk Mound .
So, Smith has started a petition for village residents to sign.
“We have flyers up and several people going door to door and getting signatures,” he said.
As of Monday morning, he had collected about 150 signatures between door-to-door chats and an online form. He plans to present the petition to the village board on Oct. 5 , ahead of their meeting that day. He also has filed a request to obtain the full county proposal and the financial comparisons used to support it before taking any vote.
Smith has some doubts that the petition will make a difference, as he believes the village board has made up its mind to close the police department.
“I just hope my neighbors speak up and make their voices heard,” Smith said.
Residents can sign online at https://forms.gle/PVvWhP19pEuwZWPS8. It is for Elk Mound residents, but Smith said he’d like others to sign it but note if they live outside the village borders.
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