Fiscal Note
The City will be responsible for funding the maintenance, repairs and fuel for any vehicles purchased by Madison Mounted Police Partners and donated to the City. While these potential costs were not anticipated in the Police Department's 2008 Operating Budget, any such costs would be minimal and could be accommodated within the amount budgeted for payments to Fleet Service. No additional appropriation is required. Future years' budgets will need to include funding for these costs. The Madison Mounted Police Partners program will be accounted for in a segregated fund.
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SECOND SUBSTITUTE - Approving City acceptance and expenditure of funds raised by “City of Madison Mounted Police Partners” to equip and train a Mounted Police Unit for the Police Department, and authorizing the Mayor, City Clerk, and Chief of Police to sign contracts, leases and agreements as required, and authorizing a Use Agreement with MG&E.
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PREAMBLE
The Madison Police Department has never had an organized, formal mounted patrol program/unit. In 2007, two officers were trained to work as mounted patrol officers on a part-time basis as other duties allowed. These officers worked in the State Street area and at special events involving large crowds.
For many years, MPD has utilized mounted patrol officers from outside jurisdictions to help with the Halloween event on State St. These officers have been invaluable in addressing the large crowd and resolving potential problems. Our experience has been that through the use of horses, the mounted officers are able to move and break up crowds in a much more efficient and less confrontational manner than officers on foot. It would require at least ten officers on foot to move the same crowd that two mounted officers could move. This experience has been repeated as our own MPD mounted officers have worked with bar crowds in the downtown area and at other special events. Mounted officers are able to more easily see over cr...
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