Arcadia council hopes higher pay will help rebuild police department

After the departure of the entire city police force, the Arcadia city council voted to repost its police chief position with a higher salary and discussed offering more money to other positions to make the pay comparable to what the Trempealeau County Sheriff’s Department offers its deputies. 

The city previously offered the police chief job to a candidate but the hire was never finalized, putting the council back to the drawing board. Ultimately, the council voted to repost the position with a salary ranging between $88,000 and $105,000. The position was previously posted with an hourly wage of $37 per hour with consideration given for experience and qualifications. That pay range, based on a 40-hour week average would equate to an annual earning of $76,960. The low end being offered in the new posting is comparable to what former Chief Diana Anderson made before her resignation in January, though Anderson was paid hourly. Council members believed that making the position salaried could attract more candidates. 

The decisions came during a lengthy meeting in which current interim Chief of Police Kyle Myhre presented information about the work that the Arcadia Police Department does in comparison with other departments within the county. That discussion came after the council accepted the resignation of officer Lucas Lindquist, the fourth of five full-time officers to resign so far this year. On Wednesday of this week, the council accepted the resignation of the last remainign city officer, Edwin Olmos Arias. Outside of Myhre as the interim chief, the city has not hired any replacements and, Myhre said it did not have any interviews scheduled as of last Tuesday’s meeting.

“(Myhre) and I have done a lot of work in taking a look at where we’re at to rebuild our police department to be fully responsive on what we need in our community,” Mayor John Kimmel said. 

Myhre acknowledged that the city police department is busier than the other municipalities in the county and that many of the calls require more time. 

“Arcadia is a very hard city to work in,” Myhre said. “It’s busy. I know people don’t like that answer…. When the guys are on duty, they’re never (in the office).”

He presented data to the council showing the four-person Arcadia Police Department issued 934 citations in 2023, compared to 1,963 issued by the 12-to-14 deputies working for the county sheriff’s department. He said city police officers responded to 3,500 calls and indicated that language barriers can lead to calls taking longer than they would in other areas.

“You might be maxed out with the amount of workforce you have at that number (of calls),” Myhre said.

With that, Myhre suggested pay raises across the board. He presented information to the council showing a police chief at $47 per hour, a newly created police sergeant position at $40 per hour, and officers being paid $35.50 per hour. 

The council ultimately tabled decisions on full-time officer pay and the creation of the sergeant position.

Myhre said growing cities get to a point where they have to “pay a premium” for officers. He said that Arcadia offers high-quality equipment and newer vehicles so “What else is left other than getting to that premium pay status?”

In its most recent posting, the city is offered $33 per hour for newly hired officers with three years of experience, but Myhre said that it should attempt to mirror what the county pays deputies. He suggested raising the officer pay to $36 per hour in 2026 and $37 per hour in 2027. 

“I think you should put yourself on an island and I think when you guys are thinking about where to set that top end, set it right about where you start to squirm and then pray because you can afford a lot,” Myhre said. “Obviously trying to stay as close to as possible (other area municipalities) isn’t working, so you have to try something else. That’s just my raw opinion.”

Even with the proposed rates, Myhre said the city would still have more than $50,000 remaining in its budget for part-time officers and overtime expenses.

While the pay rate for full-time officers was tabled, the council voted to raise the pay of part-time officers to between $27 and $29 per hour to match the county’s rate. 

Council member Duane Matelski expressed concern that the city could get many inexperienced candidates who would end up leaving, even for less money, because of the stress of the position in the city. 

“We may have a revolving door no matter what,” council member Paul Anderson responded. “But we have to take steps to try to prevent the revolving door. If we don’t give them a bump, we’re not going to have a revolving door because no one is coming in.”

Council member Jason Lockington responded saying that getting a strong leader at the police chief position could sort such issues out.

Kimmel suggested the city should be more aggressive in attempting to recruit officers including, perhaps, attending career fairs to speak to high school and college students about opportunities. 

How did they get here?

Upon questioning from newly elected council member Dave Patzner, Kimmel said each departure was unique, but they could be characterized as officers seeking “career growth.” He said officers often want to work for county departments. 

“Each officer’s departure has been unique to that officer,” Kimmel said. “You wish them well and you’re glad that they were here, but you can’t hold onto somebody.” 

The amount of calls and stress related to the calls were brought up to the city council in a January 2024 meeting in which Diana Anderson and three full-time officers told the council the demands of the job would lead to their departure. 

At the time, Anderson said officers were “getting burnt out.” Members of the department asked the council to approve two additional officers, it ultimately approved one. 

Officers have also cited a lack of support from the city government as a reason they left. 

The police department dealt with public criticism from the city government. Specifically, council members regularly questioned the department’s action regarding issues with speeding on Wilson Ave.

In a recent interview with the Times, Diana Anderson said the lack of support caused issues throughout the department.

“As an administrator, it was hard to go back and have good morale with the rest of the officers when they hear what (the council is) saying and constantly complaining about,” Anderson said. “(The officers) feel like their jobs don’t matter and they’re not doing well enough for the city.” 

Former Arcadia officer Brandon Larson, who resigned last month, told the Times that the council’s criticism of the city police force was “demoralizing.”

Anderson submitted her resignation in January, but it wasn’t accepted until April 2. Officer Israel Garcia’s resignation was also accepted at that meeting, his came after he was suspended following an arrest on March 15. Garcia was held in La Crosse County jail on an accusation of obstructing an officer, but charges have yet to be filed.