Timing May Be Right for Merger of Police Departments

The North Shore is no stranger to sharing services among municipalities.

There's already the North Shore Fire Department, the North Shore Library and now with the North Shore Health Department, which serves Glendale, Bayside, Brown Deer, Fox Point and River Hills.

The possible merger of emergency dispatch services in the North Shore has been on the table since last summer, and Whitefish Bay, Shorewood and Glendale already share a dispatch center, which is located in the basement of the Whitefish Bay Police Department.

Now Shorewood and Whitefish are looking at the possible merger of their two police departments, an idea that last month.

Timing may be right for proposal

While it's too soon to tell where that idea is headed, one expert in local government said the time may be right for the North Shore - and other communities - to take a close look at sharing services, especially in light of Gov. Scott Walker's budget bill that calls for cutting $1.25 billion in state aid to local governments over the next two years.

Rob Henken, president of the Public Policy Forum in Milwaukee, said a growing number of municipalities will likely consider consolidation because of the looming cuts in state aid. Walker has said those reductions would be offset by $1.5 billion in savings from his budget repair bill, which eliminates most collective bargaining rights of public employees but not public safety personnel.

“I think very clearly in light of the financial situation facing the state of Wisconsin and the likelihood of significant cuts in shared revenue and other municipal aids, combined, of course, with other issues in local government, it is not even an issue of whether you think consolidation is a good idea, it’s just going to become a necessity," Henken said.

Shorewood chief projects big savings

Banaszynski said the Shorewood Police Department is at a point where it needs a larger facility, and he wanted to propose the consolidated department before the village invests in new or remodeled space.

Shorewood has $2.5 million planned for a new police facility in its long-range plan for capital projects.

Banaszynski said the two villages could save $507,500 annually by eliminating five employees, not including the savings from clerical personnel reductions and the sharing of equipment.

The cost of a new building for the two departments would cut into those savings, but it is unknown how much a new building would cost. Even if the two villages were to purchase the $2.5 million AB Data building at 4057 N. Wilson Dr. and invest another $2.5 million in remodeling costs, Banaszynski said the villages would still see an eventual savings of $140,000 annually or $70,000 per community.

Consolidation made sense for fire department

When the idea of combining the fire departments that serve the North Shore first surfaced nearly two decades ago, it was a controversial one.

But North Shore Fire Department Chief Robert Whitaker said the merger has resulted in significant cost savings for North Shore communities.

In the seven years leading up to the 1995 consolidation, Whitefish Bay fire service expenditures went up 38.5 percent, and, according to a consultant's study, expenditures increased only 9.6 percent in the seven years following consolidation.

Shorewood's expenditures were up 58 percent in the seven years before consolidation, compared with a 12.5 percent increase in the seven years after the merger.

The success of the NSFD, along with other partnerships between Whitefish Bay and Shorewood, may pave the road to a potential police department consolidation, Whitaker said.

“I think there is that level of partnership that exists that would help move that forward if the community wanted to do it,” he said.

If Whitefish Bay trustees decide the proposal is worth further consideration, trustees Julie Siegel and Kevin Buckley both suggest looking at a larger consolidation effort among the seven North Shore communities.

Whitaker said a North Shore consolidation leads to larger savings and efficiency but it also comes with the difficulty of requiring a larger consensus in the decision-making process.

Many factors at play in decision

Ultimately, the decision to consolidate is up to the Shorewood and Whitefish Bay village boards and the residents, Whitaker said.

“There needs to be political will to do it,” he said. “Sometimes political will is driven by service improvement. Sometimes it is driven by costs. Sometimes it is driven by both.”

Shorewood Village President Guy Johnson said a lot of details of the proposal need to be worked out, but he said community feedback will be a key piece in determining how the villages move forward.

“There are issues of how you share the cost, which is probably one of the big things,” Johnson said. “If there is land in Whitefish Bay or Shorewood that is going to be used, that community would be losing taxes on that land. All these things need to be worked out, but they can be worked out.”

The Shorewood trustees have already toured the 28,000-square-foot AB Data building in Shorewood as a possible police station.

Johnson said a merger is an idea that merits serious consideration.

“We have got a good history of doing consolidation… it would be in the interest of both communities to thoroughly investigate the possibility of doing it with the police department,” he said.

Whitaker said the fire department is now able to respond to calls more efficiently because all communities share training standards and a command structure. Before the consolidation there was no comprehensive, unified structure when individual departments responded to calls.

“The job got done, but you weren’t always on the same playbook,” he said.

Whitaker said a consolidated police department would also simplify his staff’s relationship with police departments.

“My people out on the street don’t have to think, ‘What community am I going out to?’,” he said. “From an efficiency standpoint, having a single command structure that could consist of two, seven or five departments would improve efficiency of emergency operations out there on the street.”

Whitefish Bay Police Chief Robert Jacobs said the decision is ultimately up to the Village Board. He said he and Banaszynski would work together to provide more information to the board.

“The board would have to weigh in on if there are certain savings from reduction in staff, then what is the debt service for a new facility,” he said. “There are other financial issues and governance issues as well, but ultimately it’s a public policy decision.”