CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM, CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, AND COUNTY BOARD SIZE TO BE CONSIDERED BY COUNTY BOARD

October 14, 2020
County Board Chair Analiese Eicher, (608) 571-6823
County Board

The County Board will consider a resolution at Thursday’s County Board meeting endorsing criminal justice reform and developing both a triage and restoration center and a community justice center.

 

Elements of the initial package of reforms—spanning the continuum from first interaction with law enforcement and diversion from the criminal justice system, to booking, pretrial arraignment, charging, sentencing, and re-entry—are based on years of community-involved workgroups and various committee recommendations.

 

The package of 14 initiatives uses history and data to document, recognize, and acknowledge racial disparities. It is built on a foundation of collaboration and seeks to amplify, integrate, and empower voices of people with lived experience.

 

"We’ve got to keep moving the needle on criminal justice reform in Dane County. This resolution takes a holistic, collaborative approach to do just that," said County Board Chair Analiese Eicher.

 

The Board will also take up a resolution supporting Dane County’s Climate Action Plan. Businesses, local governments, and other entities across Dane County came together to create　Today's Opportunity for a Better Tomorrow: 2020 Dane County Climate Action Plan, which was completed earlier this year, and this resolution affirms the Board’s support for the plan.

 

The County Board heard a report on the Climate Action Plan at its September 17, 2020 meeting from Kathy Kuntz, Acting Director of the Dane County Office of Energy and Climate Change. The presentation can be found here: https://dane.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=8789289&GUID=EBE329D6-3590-4D73-95C1-9928FDA6C46D

 

Additionally, the Board will consider a resolution reducing the size of the County Board from 37 members to 35 members. The change in Board size follows public information and outreach on what the County Board does, as well as what a change in representation could mean. The Executive Committee considered this information and the related public input and made a recommendation to the Board to reduce the size at a meeting a month ago.

 

The change in Board size will be used when the County goes through the redistricting process in spring 2021. More information on the redistricting process and the Redistricting Commission is available here: https://www.danecountyplanning.com/Projects/Redistricting

 

The agenda for Thursday’s meeting along with information for the public to connect is available here: https://dane.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=734272&GUID=9CA17E6D-E602-488C-84E8-163B909384EB