Greenfield names its new chiefs

Greenfield - Interim Fire Chief Jon Cohn and Interim Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt both were promoted to being chiefs of their respective departments by the Greenfield Police and Fire Commission last week.

Both chiefs, who had been serving on an interim basis since summer when both Police Chief Francis Springob and Fire Chief Russ Spahn retired, have already taken their oaths of office.

Cohn is a 19-year veteran of the fire service and has served as a battalion chief for the Greenfield Fire Department for two years. He previously served with the North Shore Fire Department for 15 years and then became fire chief in Greendale. He moved over to Greenfield to become one of three battalion chiefs in December 2009.

Wentlandt has served with the Greenfield Police Department for 21 years in numerous capacities, most recently on the command staff as the deputy inspector.

"The city of Greenfield is blessed to have two new chiefs that are clearly among the cream of the crop in their professions," Mayor Michael Neitzke said in a news release.

Hot issues

Both new chiefs will be in the midst of the action immediately.

For example, new Fire Chief Jon Cohn may have to formulate major adaptations depending on the results of a study of whether some, or even al,l fire services could be shared among five south suburban communities.

Greenfield is participating in the study to be done by the Public Policy Forum, a nonprofit independent public policy research organization. The study will go into whether certain services can be shared and even whether it makes sense to combine the five fire departments. Besides Greenfield, the communities participating in the study are Franklin, Oak Creek, Hales Corners and Greendale.

Also facing the new fire chief is what to do if Milwaukee County pulls its funding for paramedics, as has been proposed.

Police staffing adjustments

On the police side, newly appointed Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt is hitting the ground running.

In January, he will implement the major department reorganization that has been in the works for months. The reorganization could save $400,000 a year, Wentlandt said.

Part of the plan calls for not replacing him as deputy inspector and instead distributing his duties to others. Staff positions also are being reshuffled, he said.

"The new staffing model will reflect the economic reality and maintain service that citizens expect," Wentlandt said.

The reorganization includes replacing two retired police officers with at least four community service officers. New to Greenfield, the community service officers will be in uniform and will drive a special police vehicle, but will not be armed. They will take care of routine calls such as disabled vehicles, parking complaints, property damage traffic accidents and lockouts. They would conduct vacation home checks. That will free up time for sworn officers to respond quickly to more serious calls, Wentlandt said.

The CSOs would serve part-time while they are enrolled in criminal justice or related degree programs at a technical college, Wentlandt said. They would be a ready pool of candidates when the department needs more officers, he added.

The reorganization also will replace two retiring police clerks with part-time typists to type reports, again freeing the police clerks for more difficult tasks, he said.

About being appointed chief, Wentlandt said, "I'm very proud to serve the men and women of the Greenfield Police Department and the citizens of the city."