City restarts search for Police and Fire Commission member after months-long vacancy
By Brandi Makuski
STEVENS POINT — Nearly three months after a political dispute left the Stevens Point Police and Fire Commission short a member, the city is starting over.
The city on Monday began accepting applications for the Police and Fire Commission, reopening the search after the Common Council rejected Mayor Mike Wiza’s appointment of Ronald Springer in April and later declined to reconsider that decision in May.
The move resets the appointment process after months of public disagreement over the commission’s makeup and Wiza’s decision not to reappoint longtime commissioner Denise Mrozek.
The controversy began during the council’s April reorganization meeting when Wiza nominated Springer to replace Mrozek, who had served five years on the commission.
During a contentious debate that lasted more than an hour, Wiza called Mrozek’s original appointment “a mistake.”
“I made a mistake that did not help the Police and Fire Commission. It created all sorts of issues,” Wiza said.
He said he had received concerns over the years from multiple police chiefs, fire chiefs, officers and firefighters but declined to publicly explain them.
“I’m not one to air someone’s dirty laundry in public,” Wiza said.
Several council members challenged both the lack of transparency and whether Mrozek’s removal stemmed from her scrutiny of last year’s proposed joint fire department with the Village of Park Ridge.
District 2 Councilwoman Jacqui Guthrie argued Mrozek had been doing exactly what commissioners are expected to do.
“Her non-renewal to me lands as retaliatory for doing good work,” Guthrie said.
District 7 Councilwoman Mary Kneebone also defended Mrozek, saying her experience and institutional knowledge would be difficult to replace.
Despite the lengthy debate, the council rejected Springer’s appointment on a 6-5 vote, leaving the five-member commission one member short.
In May, District 3 Councilwoman Ginger Keymer, who had voted against Springer, asked the council to reconsider, saying the vacancy was preventing a qualified candidate from serving.
“I do feel like this ultimately created difficulties for the PFC, and being one short of their body by count, and I do feel like it unfairly keeps a qualified candidate from having a place at the table,” Keymer said.
The council voted 7-3 to reconsider but fell one vote short of the required three-quarters supermajority.
The commission has continued operating with four members. During its May and June meetings, Commission President Joe Kirschling said the vacancy was “not a problem” and that the board could continue conducting business until the Common Council confirmed a new commissioner.
That appointment never came.
Instead, the city has reopened applications, signaling it is moving forward with a new search rather than Springer’s nomination.
Under Wisconsin Statute 62.13, the Police and Fire Commission operates independently of both the mayor and the Common Council. The five-member board oversees the hiring, promotion and discipline of police officers and firefighters, adopts department rules and hears disciplinary appeals. The system is designed to keep those employment decisions independent of day-to-day political influence.
Commissioners serve staggered five-year terms, preventing any one mayor or council from appointing the entire board at once.
The city has not announced when applications will close or when a nominee will be brought before the Common Council. Anyone interested in serving on the Police and Fire Commission can contact the Stevens Point City Clerk’s Office at 715-346-1569 for information about the application process.