In an effort to target alcohol abuse, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced a series of budget initiatives Wednesday aimed at providing increased funding for drunk driving enforcement and rehabilitation programs.
Falk noted the state of Wisconsin holds many unfavorable titles when it comes to alcohol abuse statistics - it is the worst state for binge drinking, underage drinking and drunk driving - problems she plans to curb within Dane County.
We can make a difference in a problem that is bringing our whole community down,"" Falk said. ""We can confront the overuse of alcohol in our community starting with prevention when children are young [to] tough enforcement for chronic offenders.""
In February, Falk created a task force to evaluate alcohol abuse within Dane County and make recommendations for strategies to fight the problem. Falk's proposed initiatives aim to educate children about alcohol abuse at the middle school level, provide repeat offenders and chronic users with treatment opportunities and reduce drunk driving by providing an extra 1,000 hours of patrols on Friday and Saturday nights.
Falk said while she met with representatives from the tavern industry and Susan Crowley, director of UW-Madison's PACE Project, an initiative aimed at reducing high-risk drinking on campus, the alcohol problem is not exclusive to Madison's infamous downtown area.
""It's not just a State Street problem. State Street is a problem [but] it's not the only problem,"" Falk said.
According to Falk, just under 50 percent of sentenced Dane County inmates are incarcerated for alcohol-related offenses ranging from drunk driving to domestic violence, a statistic Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney called an ""eye opener"" to the county's alcohol abuse problem.
Dane County Board District 4 Supervisor Brett Hulsey, chairman of the county's personnel and finance committee, said Falk's proposals would not only help people suffering from alcohol abuse, but also help reduce jail crowding and ease the burden of taxpayers.
While Falk said her proposals are not a ""silver bullet"" to solving the problem, she is planning to announce additional alcohol initiatives in October to continue the fight.
