Mar-Mac Police Commission approves hiring of full-time officer
Chief position, residency requirement also discussed
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
The Mar-Mac Police Department is getting closer to being fully staffed. The Mar-Mac Police Commission, at a May 9 meeting, approved the hiring of Joshua Halligan as a full-time police officer.
“It’s still contingent upon his psychological and written and medical exams. As long as he passes everything, a tentative start date would be the middle of June,” said police chief Robert Millin.
Halligan is not a certified officer, but has a bachelor’s degree, meaning he can complete the short course at Hawkeye Community College in order to become certified.
The new officer fills the position vacated by Dylan Ceynar. He joins fellow full-time officer Tyler Zach, who was hired this spring and is currently at the law enforcement academy in Des Moines. According to Millin, Zach will finish at the academy in August, at which time Halligan will attend.
A change to the department’s residency requirements, also approved at the May 9 meeting, means the new officer will not have to reside within seven miles of Marquette or McGregor in Iowa. State law has been changed to allow officers to reside outside the state if the jurisdiction has adopted a policy to allow it. The proposed amendment placed a five-mile radius for residency, but if the officer lives in Wisconsin, the squad car may not be driven home.
With the current housing shortage, “this will allow more flexibility and have more options available,” Millin said.
The chief, whose full-time employment with the department ended after April 30, was also on the commission meeting agenda. The commission considered a proposed memorandum of understanding for a part-time chief of police position with Millin. Once the department is at full staff, the position will be mainly administrative work, and the number of hours required will be reduced.
Along with his Mar-Mac duties, Millin is serving as a police officer in nearby Prairie du Chien—a position he took this spring.