Shawano Police Department to promote four officers

Officers Ruen, Atkinson, Bamba and Burkel will be promoted to the classification of sergeant
By: 
Luke Reimer
Reporter

Four police officers with the Shawano Police Department are being promoted to the rank of sergeant.

The four officers are Scott Ruen, Ryan Atkinson, Michelle Kamba and Brian Burkel. They have 50 years of police experience among them.

“Some of the things that were looked at, it really came down to experience,” said Shawano Police Chief Bradley Rabideau. “For example, Atkinson and Ruen have been doing this job as officers in charge (OICs) for several years now, so that ability alone is not a huge step for them to move into the new role. With Kamba and Burkel, while their tenure here has not been that long, they still have a considerable amount of experience, both here and where they were before, with Kamba previously serving in Manawa and Burkel previously serving in Baraboo.”

The position of sergeant is seen as a communication role between the patrol officers and administration. The position is being readded to the Shawano Police Department after 18 years. At that time, the people who were serving as sergeants became lieutenants.

The chief said those who are getting promoted will still have their duties as patrol officers. They will be given extra tasks, like making sure paperwork is done, all complaints are completed and all shifts are covered. The department is not hiring any new patrol officers, because those who are getting promoted will still serve those duties with that added work.

“It is everything that a patrol officer does plus a little bit more,” Rabideau said. “That sergeant classification gives us the ability to add extra duties to their jobs.”

The Shawano Police Department currently runs a “12-hour pitman” schedule, which breaks the department down into four shifts — two day shifts and two night shifts. The two patrol lieutenants, Mike Musolff and Heidi Cartwright, work that same pitman schedule.

“Those patrol lieutenants are not able to be here obviously 24 hours a day. So, what we have done from within the department, we have officers in charge, who were more or less in charge when lieutenants weren’t around, and what we have done is promoted them to a classification of sergeant,” said Rabideau. “It gives them a little bit more authority to handle day-to-day operations within those shifts and more or less lead individuals.”

The reorganization will provide more effective and efficient service to the community, Rabideau said. This will allow for better security and law enforcement coverage within the city, as well as produce better work from those employed with the police department.

“It is certainly going to have a major effect on reorganization, in that we will have more supervision 24 hours a day,” said Rabideau. “The amount of supervision that we are going to have will increase considerably from what we have had before with just the two lieutenants.”

Through reorganization, Rabideau mentioned that without utilizing any more money, the police department is able to take the same staff that they already have and serve and protect the community in a better way.

“We are able to utilize the resources that we have and change some of the job descriptions and titles in order to better serve and get a better product from the people that are working here currently,” said Rabideau.

According to Shawano City Administrator Eddie Sheppard, there will no additional budget impact from what was already approved in the 2021 budget. The new sergeants can expect to see about another $2,000 a year each.

“The total net increase moving from the OIC model to the sergeant model totaled $7,900,” said Sheppard. “That was included in our 2021 budget, so there is no additional budget impact beyond what was already approved in the 2021 budget.”

Rabideau elaborated on the logistics of the money that the sergeants will be receiving.

“In relation to the current bargaining agreement with the union association, OICs get a premium hourly rate; it’s only like a dollar an hour (more),” said Rabideau. With the elimination of the OIC position, those funds will help pay the sergeants.”

Rabideau forecasts that the public will not be affected in a considerable way. The promotions will allow for higher surveillance in the community, though.

“I don’t know that the public is going to see a huge increase,” said Rabideau. “Having that supervision out on the streets every day will afford the patrol officers more latitude in enforcing and serving the people in the community.”

The Shawano community is very supportive of the department, Rabideau said, and he believes that the community will also support these promotions.

“We are attempting to provide a better service and be able to serve and protect those in our community in a better way,” he said. “We would not have done this if there was not some type of positive gain for both the community and the department.”

A formal swearing-in ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 14, in the Shawano City Hall community room during the common council meeting. The four new sergeants will assume their duties at the end of April.

“Our overall goal is to better serve and protect the citizens of Shawano,” said Rabideau. “Not just the citizens, but those that work here, live here and travel here.”