Government shouldn’t see events as cash cows

Government should exist to serve the public, not seek to profit from it. That doesn’t seem to be the case in Marathon County, where communities are beginning to line up for their opportunity to pick the pockets of community event organizers.

On April 28, members of the Athens Village Board approved a plan to charge event organizers $100 per hour for each village law enforcement officer they request for an event.

The price is arbitrarily and punitively high and seems to have been set to serve as a deterrent to event organizers from asking for assistance from law enforcement to keep the peace at events. It sends the message that in Athens, at least, law enforcement is only there for individuals and groups willing to pay a hefty premium for it.

Community events should serve as an opportunity to enhance community policing and promote positive interaction between members of law enforcement and local residents and visitors.

Routine patrols and presence at events is a fundamental part of law enforcement serving the community, on par with assisting with funerals or helping locate at-risk individuals who stray. These are the types of services people expect when they pay taxes to support government services, including local law enforcement.

In their decision to implement the additional fee, board members magnanimously exempted the Athens Fair. The annual event is by far the largest event held in that community and the one most likely to require the presence of law enforcement. The decision to exempt one event and not others puts the village board in the precarious position of picking and choosing which events will succeed or fail.

The actions to set an arbitrarily and unrealistically high fee for what should be a basic part of community policing is a direct outgrowth of the ill-conceived and fundamentally flawed assemblies ordinance approved by Marathon County last January, which requires a minimum of three licensed security personnel per 1,000 attendees present at any given time. According to Marathon County, these personnel must be licensed by the Department of Safety and Professional Services. On the local level, community law enforcement personnel are the ones most likely to meet those requirements and be available.

Based on the amount being charged by Athens, itself based on what is charged by Marathon City, a typical weekend event could see upwards of $4,000 or more per day, or more than $12,000 for the weekend, being bled out from event organizers into local government coffers.

As anyone who has actually tried to run an event knows, depending on the size, focus of an event and weather, the protection fee amount could easily exceed any profits brought in that day. Regardless, the additional fees take away money going back into improving events and paying for attractions. It also robs from the community by reducing the amount available for donations, scholarships or community improvements.

Rather than shaking down service organizations trying to improve their communities, governments and law enforcement agencies should instead be partners in working with groups and organizations, recognizing that events that bring people to an area provide an economic boost that helps everyone.

Central Wisconsin Publications Editorial Board consists of publisher Kris O’Leary and Star-News editor Brian Wilson