Manitowoc Police and Fire Commission Meeting - September 9, 2026
Manitowoc Police and Fire Commission Meeting - September 9, 2026
(Note: The official agenda and minutes list the meeting date as September 8, 2026; however, the provided instruction specifies September 9, 2026. This summary uses the instructed date. Additionally, the transcript references a Commissioner Waller who is not listed in the official roll call of commissioners.)
The Police and Fire Commission met on September 9, 2026, at 4:30 PM at the Public Safety Building Lower Level and via Zoom. All five commissioners were present: Vander Bloomen, Sauer, Zigmunt, Wellner, and Schema. The meeting lasted approximately 5 minutes, adjourning at 4:35 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approved unanimously the July 2026 Police and Fire Commission minutes.
- Approved July and August 2026 Police Department monthly reports. During discussion, it was noted that calls for service in July 2026 were down by approximately 150 compared to July 2025; adult criminal charges decreased from 135 (July 2025) to 117 (July 2026); OWI citations were 12 (no July 2025 comparison available); field warnings were 573 in July 2026.
- Approved July and August 2026 Fire Rescue Department monthly reports. It was reported that August 2026 was the busiest call volume month of the year, with 590 ambulance calls plus additional fire calls. Every month of 2026 so far has been busier than the corresponding month in 2025, putting the department on pace to exceed last year's total call volume.
- Approved July and August 2026 Building Inspection monthly reports. The building inspection supervisor indicated that permit volume and dollar values are on pace to match or slightly exceed last year, with summer being the peak inspection season.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made. One online attendee was present but did not speak.
Discussion Items
- Police Department Patrol Officer Eligibility List: The commission considered a request to approve an eligibility list of five candidates—John Henning, Jocelyn Manders, Devin Hinkle, Laura Methison, and Haley Quinn—for a period of 12 months. The transcript notes that Commissioner Waller (not listed in official roll call) was on the interview panel and had no issues with the candidates.
- Police Department Detective Eligibility List: Commissioner Wellner noted that the agenda document incorrectly titled the position as "police detective sergeant" and requested it be corrected to "police detective." After striking "sergeant," the commission considered a list of three candidates—Officer Amber Field, Officer Kyle Novak, and Officer Joe McDonald—for a period of three months.
Key Outcomes
- Motion to approve the consent agenda carried 5-0 (all ayes).
- Motion to approve the Patrol Officer Eligibility List (12 months) carried 5-0. Motion by Schema, seconded by Vander Bloomen.
- Motion to approve the Detective Eligibility List (3 months) carried 5-0. Motion by Vander Bloomen, seconded by Schema. The document was amended to remove the word "sergeant."
- Motion to adjourn at 4:35 PM carried 5-0. Motion by Schema, seconded by Sauer.
Meeting Transcript
It's 4 30. We'll call the meeting to order. Roll call. We have all commissioners present. Public comment. We have nobody here. One person online. If you want to comment, speak up now. Consent agenda. Starting with the minutes. Are there any corrections to the minutes? No. Okay. Police department monthly report. Yeah. I guess we'll start with calls for service. Calls for service were down July 26th. From July of 25, approximately 150 calls, which which is a good thing. Adult criminal charges are down 117 to last year in July was 135. OWIS 12. We do not have July's comparison comparison in 25. Field warnings 573, July 26th. Do you gentlemen have any questions or any clarification on anything on the report? Hearing none, we'll go to the fire department metrics. Sure. Not much to report there. Types of calls only have been steady through the summer. The biggest thing is this August was our busiest call volume month of the year. Not by a lot, but it has been the busiest so far with uh 590 ambulance calls and um and a few uh uh fire calls on top of that. So um if you look at the year as a total compared to last year, I believe every month has been busier just in general, call volume-wise, so we're on pace to beat last year's call volume. Otherwise, nothing uh much out of the ordinary with the time certain things like that. Any questions? Building inspection. Uh and as far as building inspection goes, I touched base with the uh building inspection supervisor right before I came over here for the meeting, and he says uh kind of very similar sediment to our statistics is that uh everything is on pace to remain the same as last year, if not uh a little bit. The projections are a little bit more permits, dollar value, things like that for this year. Um, and then just that he states obviously it's summertime, so this is the building season, so they're extremely busy with their inspections. Any questions for either chief? Hearing none, I'll take a motion for approval of the consent agenda. So move. Second? Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed. So move. Then we have police department patrol officer eligibility list. Yeah, uh we uh recently had interviews for patrol officers, uh and we have five that we'd like to add to our list uh for a time frame of 12 months. Uh John Henning, Jocelyn Manders, uh Devin Hinkle, Laura Methison, and Haley Quinn. Uh Commissioner uh Waller was on that panel as well. And I have no issues with the candidates listed.
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