Parking citations in La Crosse so far in 2022, nearly double that of 2021, as commission to review police/fire reports

A special meeting of La Crosse’s Police and Fire Commission on Wednesday.

The commission will review February’s personnel reports for both agencies. The meeting takes place online at 10 a.m.

On the agenda for the police report are total parking citations for 2021 and 2022.

Parking tickets in 2022 have already nearly doubled all of 2021, so far.

According to the police’s three-page report, there have been 10,758 parking citations in 2022. Last year, there were a total of 6,902.

Also on the agenda are calls for service numbers and community policing contacts — both of which have dropped off over the past 12 months.

But, like parking citations, La Crosse Police calls for service in 2022 have already surpassed the 2021 numbers by over 300.

There were 7,701 calls for service in 2021. This year, so far, 8,067.

The February comparisons this year to last, however, are fairly similar: 3,656 in 2021 compared to 3,840 in 2022.

Meanwhile, the six-page fire report details staffing, fire and rescue operations, training and building inspection stats.

One of the graphics in the report shows property saved in total dollars. That figure is $21.6 million. It also shows the department saved $5.9 million in “contents saved.”

Monthly incidents for all of 2021 were fairly steady, between 542 to 634. The only outlier was March of 2021, where there were only 335 incidents.

The final page is a summary of community risk management, which points to one TV interview on space heater safety.

The summary does not show Fire Chief Ken Gilliam’s multiple appearances in 2021 on La Crosse Talk PM, though “grilling/cookout safety” or the department saving ducklings may not have been part of the community risk categories.