Apr 14

Written by: Steve Erbach
Saturday, April 14, 2007 2:28 PM

Just before the April 3rd election I finally managed to put a few web pages together containing my thoughts about a few issues facing the city.  I dovetailed that web site with a reminder mailing that went out four days before the election.  In the mailing I invited people to email me with any questions.

Well, here's the first one and my response.

Dear Steve,

I received your request to vote for you.  I read your views on the police dept.  Why  should I vote for you? The council [which you are a part of] and mayor have limited influence on the police dept..  Come on.  If the council and mayor had wanted to use their influence on the police and fire commission they [police and fire commission] would have acted as soon as the police study was completed.  I heard Todd Stevenson at a council meeting say that if changes were needed in the police dept., that they would be made.  You were very quiet at that meeting.  Do you think changes are needed in the police dept.?  If not, then what  would be enough???

I have influence on three votes in my household but before I make a decision I would like answers to these questions.

1. Why did the city settle the Dringoli suit for X amount of dollars and not drop the charges?  I already heard the political answer.  What do you really believe, gut-level?
2. How much tax money did the city actually spend on the Dringoli case?  Take into account his salary;  legal fees; overtime to replace  Dringoli's position; time spent on the investigation; the apparent increase in insurance premiums because of the Dringoli settlement and the list goes on.   I heard from $200,000 to over a million.  As  a council member, do you even have a ball park figure? If not, why not?
3. I have a problem with Chief Appel.  Appel was chief for two years and even if the problems in the department began with Forcey, why didn't he begin to correct them? I believe that status quo was good enough for him.  I have no confidence in him.  If I  was chief and one of  my captains "talked behind my back" [as indicated in the the police study] about "poor" management on my part, then that captain would not be working for me.  I can only conclude that Appel is weak.  That captain should have been let go but once again politics came into play.  My question--Do you agree with me?
4. Do you really believe that the police department can overcome the A and B team mentality without a change in the administration?

I have lived in Neenah since 1978 and have strong affection for our community--my kids received an excellent education here.  But this police department fiasco has really hurt.  And yet no one will take responsibility.  The mayor? nope!  The council? nope! And the police and fire commission? Nope.  When does responsibility and accountability begin?  What can you do to put politics aside and lead. We need leadership on the council.  Will you be the one?

Thanks for letting me vent a little.

Here's my response:

Dear Mr. ____,

I was thrilled to get your email! I'm sorry I didn't answer earlier as I went out for one last long round of door-knocking yesterday.

Straight to your questions:

1. First of all, the city did not file the charges against Dringoli, therefore it cannot "drop" them. I'm not completely familiar with all aspects of this affair. I haven't followed it in the news except over the past five months since being on the Council; though I did review the Post-Crescent stories going back to January '06 when a pile of charges were dismissed without prejudice because the judge couldn't understand what the DA had written. I don't know the ins and outs, or who did what to whom because I haven't been told. If you think that each Council member is privy to the rock-solid truth plus every single detail of this farce, you would be mistaken.

   The city settled at the request of its insurance company. This is what I've been told. To tell you the truth I haven't got a gut-level feel. The Police Department presented evidence against Dringoli to support the charges that were made against him. How could the Council evaluate in advance whether those charges would stick or not? In the "table of organization" of the legal process, the Council is pretty much a bystander.

   This may not be a very satisfying answer, but once the legal process begins, there is a due process to follow. As you've seen, that process was messy and bungled. That mess now needs to be cleaned up. As I said on my web site, this affair has been handled deplorably from every angle, but I don't see how you figure that the Council could have stepped in and stopped it at some point since none of the Council members were to be called as witnesses nor were any of the Council members called upon in the discovery process.

2. The ballpark figure I've heard is around $200,000. That is not a figure I dug up for myself, so I do not know if it covers every item you listed. Why don't I know? Mainly because 1) the numbers you're talking about come from many different places in the budget, 2) because there was no mandate to monitor every dollar spent on this affair as it was unfolding, and 3) because some of the dollars you're talking about are part of normal department operations. Every dollar of every police department action and every city action is not earmarked, if you will, with a special account number. Some of it, I'm sure, would fall under the county budget. I don't believe -- though I could be wrong -- that every case that is prosecuted by the DA's office is monitored for cost. Again, how does the DA know in advance how a case is going to turn out? The process is followed from start to finish.

3. I agree with you that politics came into play in the police department. I have no doubt that each of the top-level managers know the game, so to speak. As far as firing a captain for talking behind the Chief's back, that isn't a firing offense. To get rid of a manager in the police department requires a very strong case if the city doesn't want to get sued. That may sound like a chicken answer, too, but I'm telling you it ain't that clear-cut. It isn't just politics. There are contractual agreements that the Police Commission has to adhere to.

   As to why the Chief didn't begin to correct the problems he inherited from Forcey, I can only guess. My guess would be what yours is: the status quo. Maybe he wanted to be liked. I don't know.

4. 4. Mr. _____, I cannot personally answer for the A and B team "mentality" because I didn't even hear about it until I read it in the paper. The fact that some officers were treated differently in the department doesn't surprise me. I would think it would be impossible for every officer to be treated the same, especially if there is some head-butting going on. Consider what happens in a private company: the boss has his favorites; there's office politics; some that know the game get advancement over others who, objectively, have better qualifications. Does the business grind to a halt? No. Some people may get disaffected and leave the company; some changes may affect the performance of the company if the person that is moved up the ladder turns out to be a poor manager.

   But people do change. If you've ever had a relative enter the military you know what I'm talking about. The Chief is now under a microscope. He will continue to be so. If Dringoli gets elected -- and I'm betting he is -- that microscope will be highly focused.

   I have heard from several sources that the morale at the Police Department has never been higher. I've heard that there have been police department employees out placing yard signs for Dringoli's opponent, Ms. Zaretzke. Does the A and B team still exist? I can't say for sure, but I do know that "station patrol" has ended; the mileage logs of the patrol vehicles show more mileage on them, indicating that the officers are out on patrol more; there are more traffic stops and arrests being made. The department continues to function and new officers are being hired to bring the force back up to full strength.

I do not call myself a leader, no. As I've said since November when I won the special election to fill out the un-expired term of Kip Kitzerow, I am a regular guy. I think if you were in my place you would certainly have a fire in your belly over this issue and you would, perhaps, act as Dringoli will if he wins a Council seat; that is, maintain focus on the Police Department to make sure changes are made so that its operations can be brought back into line with the way they should be. I intend to do the same.

As far as politics, I'm not the "favorite son". In November, when I won on the second ballot over Mr. Hillstrom, I put my head down because I was a bit overwhelmed. I really didn't expect to win and I had a bit of trouble breathing. I was told that at that moment the Mayor's jaw dropped. He's my neighbor; he lives four doors down from me around the corner. We're on cordial terms, but he wanted Mr. Hillstrom to win. I don't think he would grieve if I lost this election.

I'm glad you vented. I hope that you see that I've tried to give your email a complete reply, though my wife is now giving me dirty looks since I've spent about 45 minutes on this reply this morning and we've got to get to work and get our daughter to school.

Please let me know if I haven't done your email justice.

Sincerely,

Steve Erbach
Neenah 3rd District

And, finally, his reply:

Dear Steve,

Last year I wrote an e-mail to the mayor with my concerns about the police dept. and his reply was the standard political garbage. I appreciate your candid response to my concerns. Thanks. Don't sell yourself short. You can be a leader on the council. You have our votes.

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