2009 WLEOA SPRING MEETING

 

03-21-09

 

RADISON HOTEL, PEWAUKEE WI

 

Meeting called to order by President Jim Kirk at 10:13 AM

 

Opening prayer- Sheree Carr

 

Pledge of Allegiance

 

Roll Call

 

President          Jim Kirk                       Present

Vice Pres.        LaMont Strandberg      Present

Treasurer          Allen Kraeger               Present

Secretary          Randy Albert                Present

District #1        Mark Hunter                Present

District #2        Chad O’Neil                Absent

District #3        Craig Olsen                  Absent

District #4        Mark Stanmeyer           Present

District #5        Kurt Drezek                 Present

District #6        Winn Collins                 Excused

District #7        Tony Nardi                   Present

District #8        Randy Lind                   Present

District #9        Jeff Schmidt                  Excused

District #10      Sheree Carr                  Present

District #11      Dennis Kluge                Present

Past President   Robert Wuerl               Present

                        Fred Haas                    Present

Campground    Bill Appleton                Present

Others              Laurie Gruber               American Income Life

 

Meeting agenda presented by President Kirk. Motion to approve the agenda by Kluge. 2nd by Strandberg. Motion passed.

 

Meeting minutes from Fall 2008 meeting presented. Motion to approve the meeting minutes from the past meeting by Strandberg. 2nd by Lind. Motion passed.

 

Motion to set the per diem at $25.00 for this meeting so it is the same as past meetings by Strandberg. 2nd by Kluge. Motion passed.

 

Mileage reimbursement rate set at .55 cents per mile per IRS guidelines.

 

 

 

Raffle Drawing

 

Laurie Gruber, PR representative from American Income Life agreed to pull the tickets from the raffle tumbler. She had not purchased any tickets for the drawing.

 

Prizes were awarded from 1st place to 12th place in order of tickets drawn. The winners were:

 

1st Prize            Darrell Malmarowski                Hartford WI                 $1,000 Cash

2nd Prize           Nancy Otto                              Sarasota FL                 $750 Gander Gift

3rd Prize            Paul Dull                                   Cross Plains WI           $500 Gander Gift

4th Prize            Jim Sanfilippo                           Montello WI                 $250 Cash

5th Prize            Ruth Ferg                                 Sheboygan Falls WI     $150 Cash

6th Prize            Don Lloyd                                Cumberland WI            $100 Cash

7th Prize            Jerry Greenwald                       Oconomowoc WI        $100 Cash

8th Prize            Jeff Bean                                  Deerbrook WI             $100 Cash

9th Prize            Jeff Loud                                  Middleton WI               $100 Cash

10th Prize          Mike Heenan                            Appleton WI                $100 Cash

11th Prize          Norma Crosby                         Wausau WI                  $100 Cash

12th Prize          John Lappley                            Waukesha WI              $100 Cash

 

1st Alternate      Susan Riseling                           Madison

 

TREASURER REPORT – Allen Kraeger

 

As of March 20th, 2009 the WLEOA had 175,242.20 in current assets. Fixed assets totaled $44,619.58. Total assets equaled 219,861.78. This is an increase of $6956.33. compared to the Spring Meeting April 2008. Wegner LLP conducted a full blown audit of the WLEOA finances. Those reports were distributed to everyone present. Motion to accept the treasurer report by Nardi. 2nd by Kluge. Motion carried.

 

SECRETARY REPORT – Randy Albert

 

Membership stands at 2094 as of March 19, 2009. The WLEOA has lost 6 members since the beginning of the new year when adding in new members and subtracting members lost to deaths and other reasons. Deaths are the main reason as Secretary Albert has been notified of 23 deaths of Life and Active members so far this year. There are 957 Active and Associate members and 1137 Life members. There were 37 retirements processed in 2008. There have been 14 retirements thus far in 2009. All members behind in dues had a letter mailed to them in November 2008. Motion made by Strandberg to accept the Secretaries report. 2nd by Kraeger. Motion carried.

 

AMERICAN INCOME LIFE – Laurie Gruber

 

American Income Life PR Representative Laurie Gruber issued folders explaining benefit coverages for members, their spouses and children. Benefit increases will soon go in effect. Coverage will not be $2,000 for members, $1,000 for spouses of members and $500 for children of members. This option comes at no cost to our membership. A motion was made by Strandberg to accept the increased coverage. Second by Lind. Motion carried.

 

 

OLD/UNFINISHED BUSINESS

MISSION STATEMENT

 

District #4 Director Mark Stanmeyer has been working on the mission statement for the WLEOA since the Fall 2008 meeting. He presented the following statement for review.

 

“To unify the Wisconsin Law enforcement community, promoting law enforcement as a profession, encouraging public and private cooperation, and building community relationships.”

 

Motion made by Kraeger to adopt the mission statement as the official mission statement of the WLEOA. 2nd by Drezek. Motion carried.

 

CLOTHING/ACCESSORIES PRICING

 

Price List                      Polo short sleeve shirt               $23.00

                                    Crewneck sweatshirt                $18.00

                                    Hooded sweatshirt                    $24.00

                                    Fleece zippered sweatshirt        $30.00

                                    Sweatpants                               $18.00

 

All apparel contains official WLEOA logo. Orders can be placed with Vice President LaMont Strandberg.

 

T-shirt demo’s were presented. Millers First Insurance has offered to help with printing costs in exchange for advertizing on the back of the shirt. Kirk is exploring selling the other ½ of the T-shirt for advertizing revenue. Motion made to print up 200 shirts at $4.95 each and given away to golfers at the golf outing. The remainder will be sold on a first come basis. Motion was made by Kraeger. 2nd by Drezek. Motion passed.

 

NEW DISTRICT #1 DIRECTOR

 

Newly appointed District #1 Director Mark Hunter was presented to the board by President Kirk. Lt Hunter works for the Pleasant Prairie Police Department.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

Audit & Finance           Allen Kraeger advised members the annual audit year runs from

                                    May 1st to April 30th.

 

Awards                        Monty Strandberg, awards chairperson, is accepting orders for

                                    clothing. Fred Haas shared an issue of the 1967 WLEOA journal

                                    that has photo’s of the various awards given out during that era.

                                    Tony Nardi agreed to scan the documents and redesign them so we

                                    will have newly designed awards for service and meritorious

                                    service.

 

Meeting adjourned at 11:52AM

 

Meeting reconvened at 1:00 PM

 

Campground                Projected campground budget distributed by Kraeger. This budget

                                    of $11,500.00 is less than last years projected budget of $12,050.00

                                    Motion to approve campground budget by Strandberg. 2nd by

                                    Kluge. Motion carried. To accomplish the reduced budget phone

                                    service and alarms will be removed from the campground. A sign

                                    will be posted where the old phone was informing campers of the

                                    change. Bill Appleton gave a report on the status of the old

                                    lawnmowers that used gang mowers. They are breaking down and

                                    parts/service are expensive for these mowers. Appleton had

                                    researched new mowers and presented 3 proposals to the board. In

                                    the best long term interest of the campground a motion was made

                                    by Lind to purchase a Gravely 60” zero turn radius (0TR) mower

                                    for the campground. 2nd by Strandberg. Motion passed.

 

OLD/UNFINSHED BUSINESS CONTINUED

 

Callan Publishing “Projected operating report” and related correspondence from Robert

Callan was distributed.  Strandberg and Kraeger explained the report as they understood it. The WLEOA had to pay Callan Publishing a check for $3,457.00 to cover expenses associated with the publication of the newsletter and  magazine in 2008. A committee was formed consisting of Strandberg, Kirk, Drezek, Kluge and Hunter to examine these operating expenses and explore other printing options. Past President Wuerl signed our last agreement with Callan Publishing on November 1st, 2001. Allen Kraeger will contact Callan Publishing in the near future to get a more current contract signed by the current president.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS CONTINUED

 

Delegates/Rules            Hunter              No report

Chaplain                       Carr                 No report

Historian                       Kluge               No report

Magazine                      Wuerl               April 15th, 2009 is the deadline for spring newsletter

                                                            Items

Membership                 Albert               At members request the renewal card will be

                                                            redesigned and we will no longer ask for our

                                                            members social security information. They will

                                                            have to provide it at retirement if they wish to

                                                            receive their savings bonds.

Resolution/By-Laws     Kluge               No report

Raffle                           Albert               We went to a mostly cash raffle this year due to the

                                                            Economy. We are exploring a gun raffle and                                                                  looking at legalities for 2010.

Ins/Death/Welfare         Lind                 No report

Retired Members          Haas                Reports one member is not receiving any mailings.

                                                            Albert asked Haas to get that name to him and he

                                                            will verify a correct address in the computer.

Trials/Suspensions        Drezek             No report

Youth/P.R.                   Carr                 The DC Trip will take place April 30th –May 4th

                                                            2009. The bus has been filled and they will be

                                                            staying in a hotel instead of the 4-H headquarters

                                                            dorms. The cost this year is $21,980.00. Albert

                                                            advised this is a 17% increase from the previous

                                                            year.  Albert suggested we hold a DC Trip two out

                                                            of every 3 years as the proceeds from the raffle will

                                                            not cover the trip. The suggestion was presented in

                                                            a motion. Kluge 2nd the motion for the purpose of

                                                            discussion. After discussion the motion was tabled

                                                            until the fall when firm figures on raffle proceeds

                                                            can be presented and it is confirmed by AAA they

                                                            would allow us to fill a bus 2 out of every 3 years.

                                                            Carr requested $300.00 for incidentals for the trip.

                                                            Albert made the motion to provide the $300. 2nd by

                                                            Strandberg. Motion passed.

Golf                              Kirk                 Golf outing will be held in Iola WI again. Prices

                                                            remain the same as last year. Kirk requested $600

                                                            for start up costs. Motion made by Kraeger to

                                                            provide start up funding. 2nd by Nardi. Motion

                                                            passed.

Lobbyist/Legislation      Stanmeyer        Stanmeyer reported not all District Directors are

                                                            receiving the electronic newsletter. Stanmeyer

                                                            will be contacting Michael Blumenfeld and

                                                            providing new email contacts for Directors and

                                                            Officers.

Scholarship                   Wuerl               Deadline for scholarship applications was 3-16-09.

                                                            12 applications were received.

Pres. Advisory Board   Haas                No report

Web Site                      Kirk                 No report

 

Recess at 2:57 PM

Reconvene at 3:11 PM

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS & CORRESPONDENCE

 

Secretary Albert shared correspondence related to the performance of the board, the raffle, and welfare of members. Tough economic times were cited by a few retirees as reasons they couldn’t participate in the raffle this year. Several retired members made donations to the organization this spring and they were also recognized.

 

DISTRICT REPORTS

 

District #1        Hunter              Advises he is excited about the opportunity to be on the

                                                board and will be working on recruiting new members.

District #2        Absent

District #3        Absent

District #4        Stanmeyer reports he and Director Drezek are working on a few ideas in

                        an effort to improve recruiting in the Milwaukee area. A flyer was sent to

                        all Milwaukee PD supervisors. The Milwaukee PD supervisors are

                        reimbursed for dues to a professional organization such as the WLEOA.

                        Sec Albert advised Stanmeyer and Drezek a receipt needs to be requested

                        from any Milwaukee Supervisor and one will be printed out.

District #5        See above District #4 report

District #6        Absent

District #7        Nardi reports the WLEOA donated $200.00 to the Central WI Safety

                        Instructors Appreciation banquet on behalf of the WLEOA. We receive

                        recognition at the banquet for the donation.

District #8        No report

District #9        Absent

District #10      No report

District #11      No report

 

NEW BUSINESS

 

Director Stanmeyer brought up two issues in Governor Doyle’s budget bill that impact law enforcement. The first is the abolishment of front license plates and registration decals on the rear plates. The Milwaukee Police Chief supports the removal of the registration decals as that department receives almost 5,000 reports of decal thefts yearly. Many Directors agreed this is a problem and the penalty for such an offense does not offer much determent. A motion was made by Strandberg to support Governor Doyle’s idea to remove decals from rear registration plates and to oppose abolishing the front registration plate as it would hinder many types of enforcement efforts. 2nd by Lind Motion passed. Stanmeyer will contact our Lobbyist Michael Blumenfeld and advise him of our position.

 

The Fall Meeting is tentatively scheduled to be held in Green Lake County and hosted by District #6 Director Winn Collins. It was agreed the meeting will be held the 3rd or 4th weekend in October.

 

A motion to adjourn the meeting was brought forth by Kraeger. 2nd by Lind. Motion passed.