WAUPUN — The Waupun Police and Fire Commission met Monday evening in a special session to appoint an interim chief of police following the resignation of former Police Chief Scott Louden.
Chief Louden resigned last week from his 6-year tenure as the Chief of Police for the Waupun Police Department. He had served a total of 23 years in the Waupun Police Department, starting as a patrol officer in 2000.
The primary topic of discussion at the meeting was a continuity plan for the Police Department, which concluded with placing Deputy Chief Jeremy Rasch as Interim Chief until they fill the permanent position.
Most of the meeting was held in closed session and was not made public record, but they summarized the conclusions for open session and making votes. They concluded on a phased approach to filling the position, focusing on finding the right candidate and ensuring department continuity.
“As per discussion we’re recommending this as an internal process,” said Mike Thurmer, who serves as president of the Police and Fire Commission. “Phase One of the process will be the PFC, the City Administrator, and the Mayor meet with staff during their briefings, and administrative staff during their shifts. They will also meet with command staff individually or as a group according to their availability and wishes.”
They also discussed matters of staff wellness, operational issues, department initiative priorities, and qualities that they’re looking for in the next Chief of Police.
“The next phase of the process would be a public forum with the candidates where we would ask the candidates to give introductions, explain their background, their leadership style, and their department vision. And then we would open that for public comment and questions,” Thurmer said.
“The final phase of the process would be the interview of the candidates,” Thurmer continued. “The interview panel would consist of the PFC, the City Administrator, a representative from the Riseling Group with a senior law enforcement background, and a senior law enforcement representative of the level of a Sheriff or Chief. And we would utilize these positions as subject matter experts.”
The process was approved unanimously as outlined.
“I think that the way you’ve outlined it starts where we need to start and that’s really working with the team to ensure we understand the needs,” City Administrator Kathy Schlieve said. “And then public input is an important part of the process and making sure that the needs of the community are met.”
They also set an aggressive time frame for the process, which they wanted to get started within the next two weeks.
“We would be looking at doing the first phase of this process and meeting with the staff at the Police Department prior to Christmas,” Thurmer said. “I know that’s a fairly quick turnaround time, but that’s what our goal is. The next phase with the public forum, we would be looking to get that done in the first half of January, which we’ll put out a public notice for when we do that. Then the interviews would be after that as soon as we can coordinate with the subject matter experts, we’re just going to have to be cognizant of their schedules.”
Deputy Chief Jeremy Rasch served as Officer in Command until being officially named Interim Chief by the commission. No names were publicly suggested regarding who might fill the position permanently.
But with the swift response, it’s clear that the Police and Fire Commission along with the City of Waupun are intent on filling the gap as soon as possible.
“The Police and Fire Commission’s just trying to assure the safety of the community, the safety of the Department, and smooth operations during this process,” said Thurmer following the meeting. “I believe we have accomplished that by making Deputy Chief Rasch our Interim Chief now. And I think having the subject matter experts involved in that process—with the PFC not having a law enforcement background—will be valuable.”
While no official reason was given regarding his resignation, it highlights an ongoing issue in the struggle to staff law enforcement positions. The Waupun Police Department currently faces a severe shortage of officers which compounds problems for staff.
“With the environment that we’re operating in from a public safety perspective with ongoing recruitment challenges, there’s a lot of pressure on leadership to figure out how we are going to respond to this and it’s filled with stress,” Schlieve said. “I don’t know if that’s part of the decision, I can only tell you I wish Scott well.”
Scott Louden was not in attendance at the meeting.
