Marquette County Tribune Interview

In your opinion, what will be the most pressing issues for law enforcement in Marquette County in the next 5 years and what are your plans to meet these challenges?

As Sheriff, I will be flexible with my schedule, as I have always been in my career, to establish a more innovative hiring process. We need to promote what Marquette County has to offer and why it is the best place to live, work, and visit. Over the last 8 years we have hired and trained over 60 deputies for our Sheriff’s Office. This is not sustainable and should not be tolerated. Hiring and training deputies is taxing on all our county resources and is very expensive. I w

You have both worked in law enforcement in Marquette County for many years.

What have been your most complex law enforcement challenges directly related to the safety of Marquette County residents and how did your work make a positive difference? In my career I have been able to work in many different jobs within law enforcement. From working as correctional officer, patrol officer, training new hires, being an instructor for in house trainings, a first line supervisor in patrol, a division administrator for jail & dispatch and patrol, and having the

Every county is facing financial strain and it reflects in the budget constraints on all departments.

It’s a stressful time for employees when discussions around budget threaten changes and possible cuts. How can the Sheriff’s department, specifically the Sheriff as a leader in the county, be a vital part of sharing the limited resources across the county and work with the administrator and other departments to set a collaborative and successful future for Marquette County within budget constraints? This is an important question and serious matter in our county. This question

Innovation and taking advantage of opportunities can keep rural law enforcement successful and highly qualified to offer the best services to citizens.

What are some examples in your career where you have used innovation and opportunities to make Marquette County law enforcement more effective? For me personally I encourage people to never turn down an opportunity. You will never know when that chance will come up again. I learned this as a young man from my father growing up in the trucking and property management business, as well as various mentors in my law enforcement career. My first example would be when I became a

Marquette County is a small, rural county surrounded by larger counties with more resources.

How does the Sheriff’s department attract and retain deputies when many other counties can pay more? I believe this starts with clear expectations, accountability, and transparency. It is important to have a clear vision, mission, and office values for everyone to follow. A guide of sorts to allow new staff and long-term staff to follow. This guide will open up future possibilities for staff to better themselves, their peers, and our community. It is highly unlikely we wil

The County Board voted to support separating the jail and dispatch staff and then backed off on providing approval to hire the staff to be able to do this.

Is it in the best interest of county residents to have separate jail and dispatch staff and why? Absolutely, yes! There are many reasons our county needs to separate the jail and dispatch division. One of the major reasons why is to recruit, adequately train, and retain staff. We are a small rural county and have larger populated counties that border us on all four sides. Each of those counties offer a more competitive wage, and each of them have separate divisions for jail

In order to save money, it’s been suggested by some county board supervisors that we close down the security at the entrance to the courthouse.

Do you think this and scaling back other security costs would be a good way to save money and still ensure safety of courthouse workers? I believe we need to be prepared and active with all security and safety of staff, citizens and visitors. It is very important! There are different options and possible cost saving ideas to allow security to remain at the Welcome Center entrance of the courthouse. I truly believe this should be a joint discussion with all stakeholders with

Eliminating the housing of prisoners from other law enforcement agencies in the Marquette County jail.

It’s even been suggested that Marquette County send its prisoners to be housed at other jails effectively closing the jail. What do you think is the best course of action for Marquette County regarding the jail and housing of inmates? I believe this topic needs to be continually reviewed annually and what is best for Marquette County long term. This needs to be done with transparency reviews of MOUs, staffing plans, vendor contracts, our annual jail inspection, and PREA audit

In your view, what are the most important qualities, skills and experience needed to be a successful law enforcement leader today.

How are you best qualified for the job of Marquette County Sheriff? I believe a quality leader needs to be flexible and will continue to mold themselves into what is important now and in the future. A quality leader needs to be willing to listen and be caring about what is being said in front of them, and have a vested interest. Holding ourselves accountable first and foremost, and providing expectations through a practical vision, mission, and values as a guide to follow for