Bill may override local sex-offender residency rules

3-1-2010 Wisconsin:

Wisconsin lawmakers may enact legislation that would make moot local residency restrictions for registered sex offenders.

A bill headed to the Wisconsin Assembly's Committee on Corrections and Courts would override restrictions in Green Bay and a handful of Brown County communities. Some local leaders applaud the idea, while others worry it may place an unfair burden on the city of Green Bay.

"The attempt is to come up with a uniform state rule," said Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon. "Rather than a patchwork of different local rules, I agree it should be a statewide rule."

Leaders in some suburbs have pushed for state action since Green Bay enacted strict residency rules in 2007.

Green Bay's restrictions forbid certain offenders from living within most of the city. They have forced neighboring communities to consider residency restrictions of their own, for fear sex offenders now will migrate to those areas.

Ashwaubenon adopted restrictions similar to Green Bay's after officials feared too many registered offenders were clustered in the village. The villages of Howard and Suamico also enacted residency rules.

"Ashwaubenon waited about a year," Public Safety Chief Eric Dunning said. "The thing is, the offenders still need to live somewhere, and when you only leave a small area where they can live, they look elsewhere. That's when we found a heavy influx into the village."

But Green Bay City Council President Chris Wery defends the city's restrictions.
"Green Bay already has more than its fair share of offenders," he said. "Green Bay has all the tough issues — the homeless, the sex offenders. We don't mind helping, but others have to do their share, too.

"We'd like the state to take more of an active role in making sure there's fairer distribution. We asked the state, and when they didn't do anything, we adopted the restrictions. An outright ban would be bad."

Department of Corrections officials argue residency restrictions force offenders underground.

"They have no place to go," said Tom Smith, sex offender registration specialist with the DOC. "What is happening is noncompliance. Offenders are failing to register.

"We're seeing offenders who are using De Pere addresses and they're being picked up in Green Bay. So chances are they're living in Green Bay and using a fake address … no one likes these offenders in their community or neighborhood, but they've always been there."

State law says offenders must return to the county where they offended.
Smith said legislation aimed at overriding local residency rules died on the floor a few years ago.

De Pere, like some other communities in Brown County, adopted a loitering ordinance forbidding certain offenders from hanging out near schools, parks or places children might gather, except under certain circumstances.

But the city also may enact residency restrictions. The City Council is expected to address the issue Tuesday.

"I think there was a consensus from the beginning that this is something the state should look at," Mayor Mike Walsh said. "Otherwise there's a domino effect, and when one community enacts an ordinance, then the next one does, then the next one does. I think it's better if there's a uniform type of law."

The City Council endorsed the state initiative, but will move forward with discussions about a local law, Walsh said.

Montgomery said the devil is in the details.

"How do you make a rule everyone can live with?" he said. "What we've seen in the Green Bay area is a domino effect. We can't end up in a position where we can't place anyone anywhere. That's why I think we need a state rule.

"This is a tough issue. There is no perfect solution. We're all working toward the same goal: to protect the children and communities. At the end of the day, that's what we all want. But how do you best do that?" ..Source.. By Patti Zarling