Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Council compromises to include retirees in on 2 percent increase for 2012, with realization decisions will need to be made for 2013 sooner than later.
Police personnel from officers to the chief were on hand Tuesday night to hear the decision over whether city employees who left their positions before August 2012 would receive retro pay. The decision to pay only retirees came after extended debate over fairness versus precedence. Police Chief Paul Geiszler took issue with the possibility that people who worked for the city during 2012 would not be eligible for a 2 percent cost of living increase, which the Common Council approved in August. He explained that three staff members had retired in 2012 with 85 years of experience among them, and another employee from the library had an additional 13 years with the city. "We have a tough enough time hiring personnel, we've been short-staffed …
Thursday, July 12, 2012
After 15 months of wrangling with the County to gain control over the 911 cellular routes on its own towers, the city amends an ordinance in hopes that cellular carriers will have to reroute calls currently going to Waukesha first
Police Chief Paul Geiszler has been attempting to negotiate with Waukesha County officials for the past 15 months in order to have emergency calls from cell phones within the city routed directly to the Muskego Police Department. An ordinance change giving the city the first right of refusal over those call routes is hoped to finally make that happen. As the Common Council voted to approve the ordinance change Tuesday night, the city may now approach cellular carriers like AT&T and Verizon to force them to transfer 911 cellular calls made in Muskego directly to the Muskego Police Department. What has been happening is that these calls are being directed to Waukesha County's Communications Center (WCCC) first, and the WCCC transfers the …
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Cell 911 debate pitting the city against Waukesha County will be a matter of ordinances, and Waukesha may follow Muskego's lead.
The long battle between the City of Muskego and Waukesha County over who should handle cellular 911 calls made within Muskego took a new step, as the city look to amend their ordinance to give them a better foothold in requiring cell carriers to reroute calls. Police Chief Paul Geiszler told the Public Safety Committee Wednesday night that an earlier meeting with County Executive Dan Vrakas and Muskego Mayor Kathy Chiaverotti was fruitless in moving negotiations. Vrakas told them at that meeting that, on the advice of legal counsel, he could not talk about the issue. Muskego has the equipment and trained personnel to take on its own 911 calls made from within the city on cell phones. These calls are currently routed first to Waukesha …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
As Muskego heads toward further litigation to wrest control of Cell 911 access from the County, the Waukesha Common Council votes to maintain their own city dispatch center for the time being.
Muskego's fight with Waukesha County over who gets to handle cell 911 calls from within Muskego is only one of several discussions municipalities have been having over the county's communications center (WCCC), with the result being in favor of local officials handling their own business. The Waukesha Common Council voted Tuesday night to stay with its city dispatch center – for now. The issue could come back as aldermen continue exploring the possibility of consolidating the city dispatch center with the WCCC. While the Common Council voted unanimously to maintain the dispatch center, aldermen could reconsider the option as more research is completed. Under council rules, items typically can’t be brought back for another vote until a year…
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Muskego held its first drug recycling program, and police officials as well as volunteers were surprised at the response, but glad that people were taking charge of their medicine cabinets.
The weekly police blotter is often home to at least one account of possession of prescription medications or drugged driving. And police officials have often said the culprit isn't a street corner, but your own medicine cabinet. As car after car came through the Muskego Police Department garage on Saturday during its drug collection day, part of a county-wide effort to clean out old and unused medications, it was clear that oxycodone - a prescription painkiller that often 'springboards' users to heroin - is everywhere. "It's the most often prescribed painkiller," said pharmacist and volunteer Justin Konkol. "The brand name is Percoset, and it's everywhere." After people finish needing the painkiller (or any prescription medications for …
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Fight over access to wireless 911 routes, and ultimately who picks up the phone first in an emergency, will have to be settled locally between Muskego and Waukesha County as federal agency says its hands are tied.
A dispute between the city of Muskego and Waukesha County over access to wireless emergency routes won't be resolved by the Federal Communications Commission. In a letter sent to the city and county, the FCC basically said that the matter was one of jurisdiction, and that it would not render a decision in which municipality could handle cellular 911 calls made from within Muskego. The city has argued that the current system, which routes calls made from cell phones to the Waukesha County Communications Center first before routing them to Muskego, wastes time in emergencies. The county has remained adamant in its position that it is better staffed to handle the calls for the area, and giving every city its own access to those calls would …
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
As Muskego fights with Waukesha County over wireless 911 access, Waukesha Common Council wants more information after extended debate on whether to give the city's dispatch to county.
Without speaking directly about Muskego's cell 911 battle with the county, Muskego Police Chief Paul Geiszler told Waukesha alderman that Waukesha County has “refused to cooperate with us.” His remarks came during a Waukesha Common Council meeting Tuesday night, where his voice joined four hours of comment and debate. The council ultimately took no action on whether to consolidate dispatch services with Waukesha County. They will take up the issue again in a month, much to the dismay of the approximately 200 people who showed for the meeting at Waukesha North High School. Several aldermen called for more information about dispatch possibilities before making a decision. In Waukesha the council is reviewing the possibility of joint dispatch…
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Citing concerns over a potential loss of life in emergencies, Muskego says its ready to file a claim against Waukesha County — and even go to court — to take over wireless 911 service.
The ongoing battle between Muskego and Waukesha County over who should handle 911 calls from cell phones escalated Tuesday night when aldermen took steps to file a formal claim against the county — a move that could set up a legal battle. People who call 911 from a cell phone in Muskego are currently routed to the Waukesha County Communications Center first, then routed to Muskego police to dispatch responders. The city has maintained these delays could translate into a loss of life. In fact, a resolution passed Tuesday cites an instance from August when a 57-second delay was experienced in such a call. The patient was unresponsive when responders had reached him, and ultimately died. The county has maintained that the response times are …
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Dan Soltysiak is the focus of scrutiny by newly formed Muskego political action committee, which says he didn't come clean on his previous "criminal transgressions'; Soltysiak maintains he was honest and has no criminal record.
A group called Stand Up Muskego, a newly formed political action committee, is circulating documents that call into question how forthright Alderman Dan Soltysiak has been on his previous involvement with police. Including reports from an incident in 1997 involving a theft in New Berlin, and other charges in Brookfield, the group said in a letter sent to the local media: "Dan Soltysiak has run his current campaign on the fact that Muskego government needs to be transparent and open in its dealings with the public it serves...When running for political office, it is imperative the public knows the full and true character of those people they may elect as their chosen governmental representative." In an interview Wednesday, Soltysiak said …
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Each side states its case for handling cellular 911 calls with no progress; FCC will have to be the deciding vote.
The City of Muskego has been eager to take on its own wireless 911 calls placed within the city since the common council gave law enforcement the authority to do so in April of 2011. However, the County has refused to relinquish the cellular access from the towers, stating that its communications center (WCCC) is able to provide quality service to Muskego and the other municipalities in Waukesha County. The difference in opinion has led to somewhat strained relations, and has forced the city to file a complaint with the FCC. Wednesday night's Public Service Committee Meeting brought both sides together to clarify their positions, perhaps to see if there was any way to make progress or come to some agreement. However, it became clear that …
Tammy Weber
9:23 am on Friday, July 13, 2012
I think any city that maintains it's own dispatch center should without doubt receive their own 911 cell calls. This should not even be a battle! more ›