By Patrick Andrews
Photo by Patrick Andrews
Sheriff John DeGeorge spoke before the Ostrander, Minn., City Council the evening of September 5 after concerns were raised over the steep price hike the city faces to continue its police contract services. Ostrander, which lacks a police department of its own, contracts with Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office for two hours of daily police service. Going into 2024, the price to continue the city’s contract is increasing from $24,000 to $44,000. According to city Treasurer Wendy Brinks, “We can’t fit the increase in our budget; it just doesn’t work.”
In the face of the steep price hike, Ostrander City Council surveyed residents to determine whether they feel the need to continue paying for the sheriff’s office’s services. Twenty of 110 residents responded to the survey by September 5, and those responses came in the form of anonymous letters. According to Wendy Brinks, opinions lean towards either cancelling the contract entirely or reducing the number of paid deputy hours. Mrs. Brinks recounted opinions such as, “I don’t see them in town anyway; what do we need them for?” and gripes that speeders from the south are not given tickets and are not slowing down. “There’s a real struggle in their minds, from what I can read, that they don’t feel like they’re getting the two hours now.”
Sheriff DeGeorge stated that, moving into the future, along with the city’s monthly activity report, the sheriff’s office will give a log of hours. He also pointed out that, as the current contract pays for less than 10% of the day, most of the police activity in Ostrander will be at night “when most people are sleeping” and “when you have a lot of the safety concerns,” reducing the visibility of police presence. “Very few people are going to see those deputies.”
Sheriff DeGeorge recommended the city cut their contracted hours from two hours to one hour per day. “I think we can accomplish very close to the same level of service with one hour of coverage [as we do with two], and I would like to see you consider that.” As he explained, one hour per day is a minimum figure; “If you have a problem, we’re not counting hours, we’re dealing with it.”
The services provided to City of Ostrander under the current contract include dispatches to non-emergency calls, in-town patrol time, and deputy availability to respond to ordinance violations. Moving from two hours to one hour of deputy time would not remove any of these services from the city’s contract, but according to Wendy Brinks, one hour would leave the budget “intact, just fine.” Should the contract be cancelled, Fillmore County Sheriff’s deputies would continue to respond to emergency calls in Ostrander, but not engage in the aforementioned services. At least two council members stated that they do not wish to see the contract cancelled entirely.
According to Sheriff DeGeorge, expenses for the sheriff’s office have increased significantly in the past few years. He also mentioned that a reduction in the total number of Minnesota Law Enforcement Officers is likely on the horizon. According to the sheriff, “a lot of retirements” are coming up within the next few years, and “very few kids are in college for law enforcement,” pointing out that college degrees are prerequisite for Minnesota police officers. “I don’t want to be in a position where we can’t fulfill our contracts because we have one less deputy working in the street.”
Ostrander residents have until the 15th of September to provide their written response to the city council’s survey. After that, the city council will hold a workshop and make a final decision regarding the city’s contract with the sheriff’s office. Three choices are before them; continue to hire deputies for two hours per day at nearly a doubled price, reduce the contract to a one hour per day service arrangement, or cancel the contract entirely.
Other city council business was brief and minimal. The August sheriff’s office activity report for Ostrander included four entries, all in the second half of the month. These included the following in chronological order: Ambulance (x1), Information (x1), Criminal Sexual Conduct (x1), and Assist (x1). Following up last month’s septic tank discussion, City Maintenance is still waiting on communication with a candidate to potentially haul the city’s waste. No final arrangements have been made. Lastly, the city received one bid for 2023-2024 heating season propane contract, and the council carried a motion to accept it, awarding Krugels, Inc. the contract. Kruegel Gas Service will provide up to 4,000 gallons of propane at a price of $1.379 per gallon. Kruegel will continue to provide and maintain one (1) 1,000 gallon tank, two (2) 500 gallon tanks, and the gas line for the fire hall at no charge.
Ostrander City Council meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Ostrander Community Center, 410 Main St, Ostrander, Minn. The next city council meeting will be held October 3.
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