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Glenwood City Police Department Moving Out
Pope County Tribune - Starbuck Times
Written by Tim Douglass - Pope County Tribune Publisher   
Tuesday, 05 January 2010 13:23


City Administrator Dave Iverson said he did believe that the county was working to reduce the dispatch costs down to "zero" over time, but that has never happened.

Ogdahl said that he had met with all three city police officers individually and asked them about the idea of moving the police department out of the county courthouse. "They are all in favor of the move," he told commissioners. "All of them thought that the police department would serve the community better if it wasn't under the wing of our sheriff's department."

"That's interesting," Stone responded, "because providing better service at a reduced cost is what this is all about."

Ogdahl then stated that the city couldn't wait any longer. "We've discussed this to a great extent... we need to get out of that building and out of the sheriff's office and go our own way right now," he said. "It means we have to approve this tonight and move out of the courthouse tomorrow morning, before the first of the New Year," Ogdahl explained.

Dispatch costs at issue


The motion to move the police out of the courthouse came after the commission voted to pay a Pope County bill of $76,544.46 for the city's share of dispatch services and half of the county secretary salary and benefits. That amount was more than $6,000 over what the city had budgeted in 2009 and has been a point of contention for a number of years. Stone had sent a letter to Pope County Commissioner Gordy Wagner in October asking that the city's share of the dispatch costs should be similar to what Starbuck is charged for the same service. Starbuck is charged about $4,800 per year, while Glenwood was charged about $66,000 with a $20,000 reduction in 2009. At a special meeting November 4, the city commission discussed the county charges and Stone said that county commissioner Wagner had agreed that "something needed to be done" about county dispatch charges. Stone said he suggested in his discussions with Wagner that the dispatch charges not be reduced to zero, but the city would pay on "a per capita basis the same as Starbuck. Because Glenwood is about twice the size as Starbuck, it was discussed that the fee would be double the Starbuck fee, Stone explained.

Iverson added that there had been no further correspondence from the county on the issue.

City Attorney Bruce Obenland asked the commission if the ultimate question was the cost of the services. If there are no negotiations, and no reduction in the charges "then the city is almost being forced to move," he said.

County notified Thursday morning


City Attorney Bruce Obenland was directed by the commission to send a letter to county officials notifying them of the city's decision to relocate the city police offices. The letter was also to include a dollar amount the city would pay for dispatch services in 2010. That amount would be $9,600, or about twice what Starbuck pays.

The letter was to be delivered to county officials on Thursday morning, Dec. 31, it was stated.

Location will be ready


Iverson told the commission that the staff would have to move some things around, but that space at city hall would be ready by Thursday morning. The space that is to be utilized at city hall once housed the county sheriff's department and the city police department. "We can do it on a temporary basis and we can do it very quickly," Iverson said. There will be some logistical problems to work out with the county, including clerical/secretarial services, evidence storage and records storage. Another issue is the secretarial work and whether or not the county wants to provide that service during the transititional period. If a secretary is needed the job will be filled quickly, Iverson explained. The city also expects the secretarial cost to drop significantly because it will likely be a part-time position.

Iverson said that the main thing will be to let city residents know that they will be calling the number (634-4518) for non-emergency city police service. That number will ring at the city hall offices as soon as that transition can be made. Emergencies will be handled the same, by dialing 9-1-1.

"All emergencies will be taken care of in the same way and that's what is important," Iverson said.

"These are law enforcement officers, they are not going to let people down when it comes to emergencies," explained Obenland referring to county and city officers working together.

Stone said he believed there would be "bumps in the road" during the transition, but nothing insurmountable and certainly nothing that will endanger the public. "In fact in the days ahead it will be far better for our residents," Stone said. Iverson added that most small communities across the state have their own police offices.

Commissioner Jack Christman questioned why the police offices would set up at city hall and then move again.

Iverson said it will give the police a chance to work out some bugs and to know how to set up the police department once a permanent location is realized.