Sussex trustees rip Town of Lisbon police services

Village of Sussex -  Village trustees Tuesday night ripped into Town of Lisbon officials for the dispreportionate number of police calls that have to be made in the town by Waukesha County Sheriff's deputies assigned to the village.

Village President Tony Lapcinski plans to meet with Waukesha County Executive Dan Varakas to discuss what alternatives are available to the village to reduce the number of calls they are required to make in the town.

Both the village and the town rely on seperate police service contracts with the Waukesha County Sheriff's department. The village pays for 24 hour, seven day a week protection with a force of 11 deputies at a cost of $1.4 million compared to the approximately $433,000 the town spends for three officers who provide one patrol per two eight hour shifts.

"Sussex responded 216 more times to assist Lisbon during the first half of 2010 than Lisbon assisted Sussex. This means Sussex officers are responding to Lisbon calls more than once a day on top of normal assistance,"  Lapcinski told the Village Board at its Tuesday night meeting.

Lapcinski told the trustees he believed the town officials were more concerned about the size of the town tax rate than the level of service provided to town residents.

"They believe if they can get it for free, why pay for it," added Trustee Steve Berger

Trustees Jason Wegner suggested village officials by providing the additional police protection are " looking out for the citizens of Lisbon because I believe their board is not."