By Dave Fidlin
A 2-year-old agreement between police agencies serving the City of Whitewater and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater has been revised. The document outlines protocol for assets seized during drug arrests.
The Whitewater Common Council on May 6 voted in favor of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlines how proceeds from the seized assets can be used to benefit programs serving the city and university.
Police Chief Lisa Otterbacher provided an update on the mutual arrangement between the two law enforcement agencies at last week’s meeting.
Since the joint arrangement was consummated in June 2012, Otterbacher said $27,550 worth of street drugs were confiscated. Additionally, 17 vehicles have been seized from drug dealers the past two years.
“The seized assets from 2012 and 2013 are slowly moving into the criminal courts and are being released to our departments,” Otterbacher said. “These seized assets have strict regulations.”
State and federal laws state a portion of the proceeds need to be disbursed to local school systems to help fund drug education and awareness programs.
“The MOU outlines the guiding principles in how the seized assets are distributed between the two agencies,” Otterbacher said. “This MOU is a bit more equal between our two entities because neither of our agencies are a standalone drug unit in need of a sustainable drug unit budget.”
State statutes also require the seized funds be maintained separate from the city and university’s operating budget, meaning proceeds cannot be used toward initiatives that typically require taxpayer dollars.
Since the joint agreement was reached between the two agencies in 2012, the city and UW-Whitewater have pooled a number of resources in an effort to fight the drug epidemic.
Some of those resources have included personnel, computer equipment and evidence-related storage space and technology.
