MARSHFIELD, WI (WSAU) - Marshfield’s Common Council is proceeding with plans to acquire a second drug enforcement officer by 2014.
The city will seek a federal “COPS” grant for partial funding of that additional officer. Police Chief Gary Jepsen said, “I truly believe that this additional drug officer is necessary,” adding that, “two years ago, if you took a look at what was happening within the City of Marshfield, we did not have the serious type of violent crime that we had last year when we investigated four homicides at exactly the same time and three of them were directly related to drugs within the community”.
Several council members like Alana Feddick-Goodwin worried about how the city would meet their funding requirements for the new position, saying, “While I agree that it’s probably really necessary, I don’t see it in the budget and I don’t see how we can afford it. I don’t see how we can’t afford it, but I don’t see how we can afford it.”
The matching federal grant would fund 75% of the position up to a maximum of $125,000 for the first three years, with the city required to fully fund the position in the fourth year of the program. The city would be responsible for approximately $213,000, over the four years of the grant program.
The Council approved plans to pursue the grant by a vote of seven to two.