Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett told the Cap Times last October that eliminating two vacant positions in his department would be “irresponsible” and “short-sighted.”
Exactly a year later, a similar proposal to cut over two dozen unfilled deputy sheriff jobs is sparking the same controversy and bringing a new Madison men’s emergency shelter into the conversation.
Health and Human Needs Committee Chair Heidi Wegleitner, who co-sponsored several amendments for the county’s operating budget next year, is hoping her fellow County Board members agree to funnel unused deputy salary funds to the men’s shelter’s operations and other social services. Wegleitner also proposed restoring funding that was cut from contracts with organizations that provide services such as mental health counseling, substance abuse recovery, older adult services or reproductive health care to Dane County residents…