Trustees in Rothschild Approve Intergovernmental Service Agreement Creating New Police Department

Wednesday, March 27th, 2024 -- 8:00 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) Trustees in Rothschild have approved the intergovernmental service agreement creating the new Mountain Bay Metropolitan Police Department despite dissent from some on the Board.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Trustee Deb Ehster noted that the process was completed with little to no input from the public or elected officials. Former EMPD Chief Dan Vergin responded by saying the group pushed to get the agreement drafted because there was momentum for the project and they didn’t want to leave officers hanging for months on end wondering if they would have a job when the dust settled.

“The careers of 40 people were involved. We wanted to move it ahead quickly so the officers could breathe a sigh of relief and know their jobs are safe.” Ehster noted that she learned some of the details in the agreement from media reports, which rubbed her the wrong way.

Vergin said through the course of all the planning meetings with the departments there was little to no pushback from rank-and-file officers and leadership. He noted that he has received some community pushback from those concerned that they may have a higher chance of getting a traffic ticket because there will be more officers in both communities.

“I feel we have checked all the boxes. This was a unique opportunity. I could tell the sentiment in the room was positive, we agreed- this would be the best thing for all the communities. We pressed forward with speed, but were careful at the same time,” added Vergin.

While the agreement is between the Village of Rothschild and the Village of Weston; it is designed to allow other communities to buy in. The first two will be the City of Schofield and the Town of Weston- which will contract to receive service but will not have dedicated seats on the Police Commission and Oversight Board.

Village leaders from both Weston and Rothschild were unavailable for immediate comment following Monday’s vote. Rothschild Administrator Ryan VanDeWalle left open the possibility of another media availability on the issue with Weston Administrator Jami Gebert later this week.

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