By Kim McDarison

A request for proposals (RFP) has been issued to hire a third-party consultant to assist the Whitewater Police Department as it undergoes a “police organizational and workload study,” according to information released by city officials earlier this month.

The RFP comes after the Whitewater Common Council in November approved an expenditure of $120,000 to help the department determine how best to address its current and future staffing needs. Of that money, $50,000 was approved to fund the study. 

A presentation about increasing needs within the department was initially made before council by Whitewater Police Chief Dan Meyer in September.

During his presentation, Meyer stressed a change in community demographics and a lack of manpower as catalysts for his concerns about the department’s decreasing ability to serve the community proactively.

Among solutions, Meyer offered the department’s desire to leverage technology, citing such programs as Propio, used by the department for language translation services, drones, and automated license plate reader cameras.

Additionally, he said that while he was not “tone deaf” to budget constraints, he saw a need to increase staffing within the department.

An earlier story about the department’s ability to serve proactively, challenges it faces, and remedies proposed by Meyer is here: https://whitewaterwise.com/whitewater-police-chief-presents-council-with-concerns-regarding-departments-ability-to-serve-proactively/.

Following the council’s decision in November to aid the department with the additional funding, Whitewater City Manager John Weidl and Meyer shared with WhitewaterWise in December a letter written to the city’s stakeholders.

Within the letter, Weidl and Meyer thanked council members and the community for their support, noting that the money would be “earmarked to fully fund our staffing study strategy and make immediate technological improvements that seek to alleviate pressure on our existing workforce until we can thoroughly assess the staffing needs of the entire police department next year.”

A link to the full letter is here: http://whitewaterwise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Chief-Manager-Open-Letter.pdf. 

Scope of work 

According to the RFP, which was issued last Friday, a scope of services being sought from a consultant includes the following:

• Perform organization and industry research on the police department.

• Review job descriptions of current positions.

• Meet with staff and officials to better understand roles and services.

• Research other comparable and neighboring municipalities to learn about services, staffing levels, shift schedules, work environment, policies, community engagement programs, etc.

• Assess call volume both currently and historically to determine trends and associated impacts for patrol, investigations, dispatch, clerical staff, and command staff.

• Assess the impact that demographic change and associated challenges, as well an increasing severity of crimes, has had on the police department’s ability to proactively serve the public.

• Analyze communications center, specifically regarding impacts of continuing to operate status quo versus consolidating dispatch services with Walworth County.

• Identify staffing impacts based on workload analysis.

• Review and assess the IT needs and capabilities of the department.

• Review current activities that support diversity and assess what ways the department can expand on these activities, including initiatives proposed by city officials.

• Review equipment and vehicle fleet to perform current services.

• Assess financial impact for any recommendations or considerations for altering services.

• Research industry standards, best practices, and trends in policing services.

• Obtain and review any service delivery feedback related to police services (i.e. emails, phone calls, social media, surveys, etc.).

• Interview elected officials as a body at a public meeting to ensure public input on the process.

• Based on research and analysis, provide recommendations for the city to consider (both short-term and longterm recommendations).

• Provide city staff with post‐project support.

• Other tasks as determined by consultant or the city.

• Provide all information gathered in a comprehensive report with recommendations on options to address any shortcomings. Comprehensive report must be provided in both English and Spanish ensuring accessibility to non‐English speakers.

• Share a draft of the study and findings to city staff prior to public presentation.

• Present findings to the city council during a public meeting. Report will be made accessible to the public.

Proposed schedule 

Within the RFP, a schedule of activities associated with the study is provided.

According to the document, proposals from interested consultants are due back to city officials by Feb. 2, 2024, with any interviews or reviews of proposals taking place during the month of February. Likewise, in February, the schedule calls for the city council to act on a service agreement.

Some background 

“Project background and description” are included within the RFP, with the document stating that the city has not increased its police staffing since 2008, but, since that time, call volume has increased as has the complexity of investigations.

The document further cites “sudden demographic change” within the city, which, it notes, “has occurred since early 2022, with an influx of immigrants from Central America.” 

The change has “created significant challenges for law enforcement,” the document continued, adding: “The city identified a need to complete an organizational and workload study of the police department. The city is seeking a neutral perspective from an experienced third‐party consultant to evaluate and compare Whitewater police services with those of other communities. The analysis will identify recommendations based upon the traditional core services, estimated costs, current and future trends, and assess service demands of the Whitewater community.”

A full report is anticipated to be completed “in early 2024,” according to the document.

The full RFP as released by city staff members is here: http://whitewaterwise.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Whitewater-Police-RFP_12-8-23.pdf. 

Challenges facing the department, including those brought by demographic changes, were among topics discussed during a press conference held in November in Whitewater at the city’s municipal building. The confrence was held by a panel of six officials, including U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, both Republicans. 

While some members of the statewide media were invited to the invitation-only press conference, WhitewaterWise, a local media outlet, was not. 

Comments made by Johnson and Steil largely focused on issues of national immigration policy. 

Earlier stories about the press conference are here: https://whitewaterwise.com/johnson-steil-meet-in-whitewater-with-law-enforcement-officials-policing-challenges-discussed/ and here: https://whitewaterwise.com/johnson-steil-hold-press-conference-in-whitewater-discuss-immigration-border-security-initiatives/. 

Following the press conference and addressing the Whitewater Common Council during its regular Nov. 21 meeting, Meyer read a statement, which, in part, noted: “Most of the questions posed during the press conference were directed to the politicians, and the discussion became hyperpolitical rather than focusing on the issues impacting us here locally.” 

Within his statement, Meyer described issues concerning immigration as an uncomfortable topic of conversation.

“That said, I see it as my job to make sure we are having these uncomfortable conversations in a way that brings us together rather than pulls us apart,” he added. 

Meyer continued: “The issue of immigration and the associated demographic change we’re seeing here in Whitewater is a critical challenge. The impact is acute and affects us here as much, if not more than, some of the larger cities we hear about on the news. Some of the cases our officers have handled this year are shocking and difficult to process. But as with anything else, it’s critical that we don’t lose sight of the fact that these are outcomes of individual choices, not a reflection of a group of people.” 

Additional police department-related items approved by council 

During a council meeting held Dec. 5, council approved a 5-year contract with Axon Body Camera and Taser. 

According to information provided in a memo by Meyer, the city’s current contract with the company expires at the end of this month. 

The recently approved contract includes the cost to replace and maintain body cameras worn by all 32 members of the department’s sworn staff as well as the cost of 24 new Tasers. The cost of the new contract is $120,658, which will be paid as a line item within the police department’s budget using the following schedule: 2024, payment of $12,065; 2025, payment of $18,098, and in 2026, 2027 and 2028, the department will make payments each year of $30,164. 

Also during the Dec. 5 meeting, council approved the purchase and installation of nine “additional” license plate readers (LPR), along with a 2-year service contract from Flock Safety LPR Camera System, coming at a total cost of $58,100. 

Three existing cameras are affixed in stationary locations within the city. 

Within a memo to council presented in December, Meyer wrote that, in November, council approved the use of $54,000 for the expansion of a Flock camera network operating in the city. He cited additional costs within the contract coming, in part, from the department’s request to relocate a camera that was already installed, noting that, with the purchase of the additional cameras, the existing camera would “duplicate efforts.” 

With the installation of the additional cameras, he said, the city would have a camera placed at all of its major entry points. 

Within his memo, Meyer noted that the Flock camera system provided the following capabilities: 

• Access to license plates captured by (the city’s) three (existing) cameras as well as cameras from any law enforcement agency nationwide that opts into the network.

• An ability to search for full, partial, and temporary plates at specific camera locations, as well as license plate location history.

• An ability to search for vehicles by make, model, color, license plate state, missing/covered plates, and unique features like bumper stickers, decals, and roof racks.

• Stolen vehicles entered into NCIC (National Crime Information Center) passing a Flock camera will alert police department staff.

• An ability to add a suspect’s license plate to a custom list so that police department staff are alerted when the plate passes a Flock camera.