to speak up for the sheriff’s budget?
Dane County supervisors will entertain public comment tonight beginning at 6 p.m. on next year’s annual budget, which would cut 28 positions from the sheriff’s department. An amendment would freeze 20 positions for one year. (Here’s the agenda.) Final vote scheduled for Wednesday November 5.
Attend in person at 210 Martin Luther King Blvd or via Zoom at this address.
A crusader for public safety, Bonnie Roe, who lives in the Westmoreland neighborhood in near Westside Madison makes the point that from 2010 to 2025, Dane County’s population increased 20.7% while sheriff’s office staffing increased 2.6%.
Bonnie Roe reports that five new deputies were hired on 10/20/2025, with 16 additional sheriff applicants in the backgrounding phase of their hiring process. Among those, 6 are women, 3 are black men, 3 Latino women, and 1 is male Latino. “If these positions are cut (or made to be held open), this diverse pool of candidates will have no jobs. The burden will fall onto already overworked deputies.”
Citing CrimeGrade.org, Dane County Republicans say the county’s crime rate is 29.68 per 1,000 residents, above the statewide average of 26.58 per 1,000. The projected Cost of Crime™ countywide is $300.4 million, or $1,177 per household.
The sheriff’s department runs the jail, serves process papers, guards the courts, and patrols the highways with jurisdiction everywhere in the county, including the city.
Ms. Roe fears “we’ll eventually end up like Seattle, which is currently so desperate for police (after “defunding” them) that they’re now paying a starting wage of $118,000 base salary for a brand new cop, plus a $7,500 signing bonus.”
Supv. Jeff Weigand reports the proposed budget will also:
• Raise property taxes by $11,600,690
• Increase the vehicle registration fee by 30%
• Up parking fees at the Alliant Energy Center by 20%
• Increase garbage fees at the landfill by various amounts
• Raise parking fees at the Dane County Regional Airport by various amounts
• Impose a hiring freeze with some exceptions
• Reduce county employee wages by 1%
• Give all employees 21 more vacation hours.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: We repeat: 26 of the 37 supervisors are endorsed by the Democratic Party of Dane County. Republicans are organizing a rally to restore the sheriff’s budget in front of the City-County Building at 5 p.m. today. If this Defund the Police budget isn’t a wake-up call …
10 responses to “Can public safety advocates find their voice”
I think Mamdami would approve of the dems’ proposals.
Give them all a gov’t jet so they can take their spouses and girlfriends out on dates. Then give them all gov’t houses to live in.
Mamdani will be Exhibit A on why progressives should not be allowed anything resembling control of a city, let alone our country’s largest. Francesca Hong will be a similar case if she gets the Democratic nomination for the gubernatorial race. She makes even Mandela Barnes look sane.
Elect a republican and we will cut off your funding, send election monitors to harass voters and call in bomb threats. Oh wait, that’s the other guy. WELCOME BACK SESAME STREET>CAN YOU SAY DEI>
Exhibit B will be the entire city of Chicago.
Come on down. Those pussy ICE goons want to push old ladies and kids around. Why don’t they come to the south side. East LA. North Detroit. We will show them a good time. Tear gas a kids costume parade down there and see what happens. Think Dems can’t fight and don’t own guns? Guess again Gatsby.
Hilarious that you think you have the iron to fight against law enforcement while not having enough to clean up your own trash in Chicago. Another example of leftist “prioritiesl.
ICE is not “law enforcement”, Mordecai. ICE is thuggery. Why don’t they take off those asinine masks?
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We have laws for both and that’s the agency tasked with enforcing them. Get it?
They wear masks because there are plenty of leftist thugs who have shown a willingness to harass, threaten, and intimidate their political enemies in their own homes. ICE agents don’t get security details like Justice Kavanaugh does. Tell those ridiculous Hamas sympathizers to take off those asinine keffiyehs.
Jesus wept.