It doesn’t happen lightly or easily, but pursuant to Chapter 51.15 of the Wisconsin law code, otherwise adult individuals can sometimes be involuntarily detained when they have shown themselves a threat to self or others, meet certain specific criteria and are “reasonably believed to be unable or unwilling to cooperate with voluntary treatment,” such detention being in their immediate best interest and/or that of others.

In which case, the River Falls Common Council would like improvements to the emergency detention process for those with mental-health and other impairments as currently existing under state law. As such, the Council made improvement to the emergency detention process detailed in Chapter 51.15 of the State statutes as one of its ‘legislative policy priorities’ for the coming year. Expressed in details with a lengthy one-hour and 48-minute session condensed into several sentences for the February 23 Council packet, the reasons for said priorities become clear upon further review.

“Wisconsin is not considered a full-time legislative body,” City Administrator Scot Simpson said as he went over the details regarding the start of the current 2021-2022 bi-annual legislative session that began January 4 of this year. “Much like the City council operates they have other gainful employment, so they come into session just to get their business done and then go home,” he said. With a four-month session from January through May, the most powerful Committee is the Joint Finance Committee, which currently includes Representative Shannon Zimmerman of River Falls and Kathy Bernier of Chippewa Falls.

“So we have two people we can work with, potentially,” Simpson said of the state level, going on.

“The purpose of legislative priorities is so that we speak with one voice and as a whole,” the River Fall City Administrator said of getting the State’s attention and potentially even help. Before long it was into improvements in the emergency detention process.

“They may not have a particular bill attached to them yet, but its something that the Council has said ‘we should focus our efforts into trying to get some headway,’” Simpson said, “in particular legislative improvements to the emergency detention process.” At present, the City of River Falls and other law enforcement agencies were doing “nearly 100 percent” of the transport for those in need of detention to Winnebago and Oshkosh, at which State mental health facilities are located.

“There’s obviously concerns about logistics and taking people away from their families and other things,” Simpson said, saying that River Falls Police Chief Gordon Young had been appointed to the task force on the issue of emergency detention and that there was currently legislation to get monies from the state into creating beds in Eau Claire, or closer to home. Moving on from emergency detention reform as a City legislative priority, there was another: a bigger share of gas-tax money for local roads.

“Local roads are important, and gas tax money for local roads is something we should think for increase,” Simpson said.

Also included if under ‘technical priorities’ on the City’s wish list from Madison this session were legislative modification “to allow for true biennial budgeting” and multi-year levies, allowance of financing for ten or more years without a referendum, and allowing sharing of money between TID districts.

For legislative priorities of a State funded nature, meanwhile, were both phases of the West Central Wisconsin Bio-Solids Improvement, for $16.3 million and $2.4 million respectively, a $115+ million State Project related to a Science and Technology building at UW-River Falls, and $5 million for Kinni Corridor Implementation, including the removal of Powell Dam ($1 million, Restoration due to removal (also $1 million) and the downtown stormwater plan, the last being estimated at $3 million.

“We’re likely to get asked by legislators…‘well if you could only have one,’” Simpson said as a reason for setting priorities at the State level.

Among the things NOT included in the list of River Falls legislative priorities, meanwhile, were COVID relief funding; energy assistance funding; restoration of local zoning authority, elimination of the town incorporation loophole, the State Highway 29 and County Highway FF roundabout, and Closing the dark store loophole.

With less than 100 views as of Tuesday February 23 on City of River Falls YouTube, the recorded Council meeting for setting legislative priorities is available for more complete viewing to those who like to go straight to the source—we just gave some cliff notes.