Monroe Public Safety Committee Annual Reports Review - March 9, 2026
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Monroe Public Safety Committee Annual Reports Review - March 9, 2026
The Monroe Public Safety Committee met on Monday, March 9, 2026, at 4:45 PM in Council Chambers. Present were Alders Corinne Wartenweiler, Lynne Kleven, Craig Franke, and Matt Sheaffer. The committee received and discussed the 2025 annual reports from the Fire and Police Departments, with presentations from Chief Rufer and Chief Kelley respectively. The meeting adjourned at 6:05 PM.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes of the February 23, 2026, meeting were accepted as presented without correction.
Discussion Items
Fire Department Annual Report (Chief Rufer)
- Chief Rufer presented the 2025 annual report. Total incidents: 365 (150 fire-related, 215 EMS). EMS calls were 59% of total runs, a 4% decrease from the prior year. The department had a net gain of one volunteer (lost two, gained three), the first net positive in years. Over 1,600 hours of training were completed, with departments enrolled in firefighter I/II, pump operator, and hazmat courses.
- The department conducted over 200 inspections, identifying over 1,000 code violations (an increase due to better training and a new cloud-based inspection module). Community risk reduction hours exceeded 500, a 56% increase over the prior year. The department maintains an ISO rating of 2, which is rare for a non-career department.
- The department sold engine three, car 12, and other surplus equipment, with proceeds going to the city's general fund. A final apparatus plan is expected in late spring/early summer.
- Recruitment: With assistance from Colony Brands, the department revamped its hiring process, attracting about 50 initial applicants, leading to three new quality volunteers. Chief Rufer noted that recruitment is now an ongoing daily effort.
- A new deputy chief position was created (starting next week), increasing full-time staff to two. Chief Rufer emphasized that the department is running lean but effective, aiming for 5–10 more volunteers.
- Committee questions: Alder Sheaffer asked about paid vs. volunteer distinction and the value of the Colony partnership; Alder Kleven asked about ISO rating rarity and inspection costs (no charge currently); Alder Franke asked about fire call breakdown (21 calls involved actual fire), the training center sign, joint training plans, and vehicle sale revenue. Chief Rufer confirmed the new deputy chief will spend 50–60% of time on inspections.
Police Department Annual Report (Chief Kelley)
- Chief Kelley presented the 2025 annual report. The department handles approximately 13,000 calls for service annually, with Friday and summer being busiest. About 6.5% of Monroe's population (approx. 800 of 10,600 residents) is Latino, but the PD has no bilingual officer, relying on smartphone apps for interpretation. Recruitment of bilingual officers is a priority.
- Staffing: 72% of sworn officers are in patrol. The department has three detectives, one officer assigned to the drug task force, and one school resource officer (reimbursed 60% of average patrol wage by the school district, ~$33,000/year). The department is two officers short of the workload-based formula recommendation.
- Training: Officers average 60 hours annually (state requires 24), with quarterly firearms and use-of-force training including de-escalation. Use of force: 10 instances in 2025, no injuries or complaints.
- Crime statistics: Crimes against persons and property decreased slightly. Simple assaults and aggregated assaults increased, but overall down. Theft and motor vehicle theft rose, while shoplifting decreased (more citations issued). No human trafficking or prostitution cases. Drug crimes decreased, with fentanyl and marijuana sales still present. No fatal overdoses in 2025 (previous year had deaths). Alcohol remains the number one drug of abuse.
- Traffic: Chief Kelley noted that financial loss from traffic accidents exceeds that from crime. Vehicle fleet has high mileage (90,000 miles in two years). Special events require significant staffing, but the public values safety presence.
- Chief Kelley is retiring in June; the Police and Fire Commission is seeking a replacement. Internal candidates are being considered.
- Committee questions: Alder Wartenweiler expressed appreciation for the department. Alder Franke noted the high mileage on squad cars and suggested exploring ways to offset special event costs. Alder Sheaffer asked about focus areas for 2026 (recruitment and leadership transition). Alder Cleveland asked about driver's license violations (second offense can be a traffic crime) and feral cat policies (PD will transport as last resort; feeding a cat multiple times makes it legally owned).
Key Outcomes
- The committee accepted the minutes of February 23, 2026, unanimously.
- Both annual reports were presented and discussed, with no formal votes taken on the reports themselves.
- A motion to adjourn was made by Alder Kleven, seconded by Alder Franke, and passed 4-0 (all present in favor, none opposed, none absent, none abstained). The meeting adjourned at 6:05 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, it's Monday, February 20. No, it's not February 23rd. Today is March 9th. And I'd like to call the public safety committee to order. If the clerk will call the role, please. Older Schaefer. Here. Alder Cleveland. Here. Older Wharton Weiler. Yeah. An older Frankie. Here. Okay. We're all present and accounted for. Any correction? Uh to the minutes of February 23rd, 2026. Hearing none, they'll stand as presented. See business presented by the fire and emergency management department. We have our fire department annual report. Good afternoon, Alders. It's that time of year again. Where the sun is out and the weather is warm and the tulips will soon be popping, and we're inside reflecting. These reports are somewhat um tasking or on our time to create, but really provide great value in the sense of an opportunity to reflect on just how much we get done and and where we were and where we've where we've come to. And I know every year I say this, but I'm I'm just amazed at what my staff gets done throughout the year, and and this really gives kind of brings all that to light for me. So provided you an overview in the in the message from the chief if you're uh for a high level view, but digging into the meat and potatoes. Um when you look at the staffing on pages five and six, uh, we list out the staff, and I changed it this year in the past. I had their start date, is what was listed. I I now just list their length of service. I think that saves you time from having to do the math, and it gives you just a little better visual to what we're doing because you'll often hear me talk about areas of weakness in that middle area, that six to twelve year experience area that is really uh disappearing for a lot of fire departments. We're starting to get a little bit of meat back into that. We got some people at six. Actually, if you went year to date, they're probably closer to seven and six. Um we got a handful of people still up there in that 35 plus years. Um that you know, in the past you would say are probably due for retirement, but to be honest, with the tenure of volunteers and the changing in people's lifestyles, anybody could retire at any given time. So I don't take anybody for granted. But it is nice to see the younger ones uh or lesser experienced ones, that's really starting to fill out. And for the first time uh since I took over as interim chief, we've actually had a net positive in the number of volunteers uh joining versus the number that left. We lost two, we gained three. So we had a net one. Um we're going the right direction. We have a very solid culture, um, very positive. And um our recruits are our newest recruits are uh probably about eight to ten weeks from graduating and and actually being able to um be significantly more productive than what they are today. So um interesting fast fact on the people that we've lost. We've had now not all of these have left the department, but we've had um four uh five if you go year to date um firefighters uh take career jobs in fire fighting out of our department in the last 15 months. So our reputation for uh training and developing personnel is pretty outstanding. Strategic plan. I threw a little blurb in here on the strategic plan as you recall that got presented last late last July. We started working on it, we reviewed it in August, started working on it in April. I think we've checked off six or seven of those boxes so far.
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