March 3, 2026
By TIM HUNDT
The Vernon County Public Safety Committee met in early March to review operations for the two primary departments under its jurisdiction the Sheriff Department and the Office of Emergency Management. The committee oversees the budgets policies and planning for local law enforcement and emergency response efforts across the entire county.
Sheriff Roy Torgerson detailed a looming capital expense for the county jail kitchen which has been using the same equipment since the facility opened nearly two decades ago. Torgerson explained that the county is negotiating a contract renewal with Aramark Correctional Food Service that would include replacing a dishwasher oven tilt skillet and slicer.
“We equipped the jail kitchen with equipment approximately 2007 and that is when we started the contract with Aramark,” said Torgerson. “Our equipment is getting old.”
Torgerson noted that Aramark offered to front the estimated one hundred thousand dollar cost for the new equipment by slightly increasing the per meal price charged to the county.
“If we renew the contract we would be basically paying about eight and a half cents per meal to pay for all this over the course of three years,” said Torgerson. “You are also taking advantage of Aramark buying power so you are probably going to save 15 to 20 percent.”
The committee then discussed safety concerns regarding horse drawn vehicles following several crashes over the past year. Supervisor Bruce Kilmer proposed creating a locally illustrated driver safety handbook tailored for the Amish and plain communities to highlight the extreme speed differences on rural roads.
“A buggy at five miles an hour is traveling just over seven feet per second,” said Kilmer. “So you got 81 feet versus seven feet and that is pretty fast.”
Torgerson supported the educational approach noting that while some local plain communities have embraced safety measures others actively resist them based on religious exemptions. During a previous January committee meeting Torgerson noted that deputies had to dismiss several lighting citations for a specific group south of town due to legal protections.
“They do have some supreme court protection on lighting and slow moving signs,” said Torgerson. “It is frustrating and it is challenging and want to keep people working with them.”
Emergency Management Director Brandon Larson provided updates on the county transition to the Everbridge mass notification system which officially launched last summer to replace the aging Nixle platform. Larson explained that his office recently had to change the caller ID phone number associated with the automated alerts because confused residents were continuously calling his personal office line back.
“We changed the phone number just so I do not get all those phone calls directly back,” said Larson. “If you do call that number back there is a voice message then that says you received an alert from Vernon County.”
The committee also discussed the feasibility of forming a local volunteer Community Emergency Response Team to assist first responders during major incidents. Larson researched the concept after reading about a successful nonprofit funded team operating in Outagamie County that provides rehabilitation services for firefighters and assists with missing person searches.
Larson warned that launching a similar program locally would require a massive commitment of time and funding to keep volunteers engaged and equipped.
Kilmer questioned whether the county should instead focus its limited volunteer pool on bolstering existing fire and ambulance rosters which are facing severe staffing shortages. Larson agreed that finding and retaining traditional emergency medical personnel remains a much larger local and national crisis.
“EMS is locally and nationwide struggling,” said Larson. “I think the recruiting and retention of fire and EMS volunteers is probably the bigger need right now.”
The conversation shifted to river safety when committee members asked about the status of rescue boats near the Genoa lock and dam. Torgerson expressed intense frustration that the federal government quietly removed the emergency vessels which drastically increases the time it takes local responders to reach people in the water.
“I think they (rescue boats) are gone going up to St Paul district,” said Torgerson. “They were gone without us knowing about it and that was part of our rescue plan.”
Torgerson explained that the county only discovered the boats were missing during a rescue operation last summer.
“We found that out in June when we had seven people that went through the dam and I said where are the boats,” said Torgerson. “They said it is too much of a liability so we got rid of them and I said that is unacceptable.”
Larson concluded by briefing the committee on federal funding delays caused by the partial shutdown of Homeland Security which stalled reimbursements for local grants. To combat gaps in federal emergency funding Larson asked the committee to pass a resolution supporting a proposed state level disaster relief fund known as the Wiser Act.
“The state does not have anything,” said Larson. “Some governor declares a disaster and does not meet federal assistance you start off your insurance covers your damages which is terrible for homeowners and businesses.”
The committee unanimously approved the resolution supporting the state assistance program.
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