Chief Blaise Sass addressed the city council at the September 3 meeting. Sass has been working with city staff and Mayor Kurt Reicks to come up with suggestions to attract more police officer candidates and to retain officers once they are hired.
Reicks explained, “We have been struggling with hiring and retaining police officers for a long time. Pay should be comparable to surrounding departments.”
Sass said he had received this day a letter of resignation from Sergeant Tim Melver. A discussion followed about step scale changes and a sign-on incentive of $2,500 per year for four years. Councilman Dean Aug commented that turnover is costly too.
A motion to advertise for a full-time officer was approved. Approval was granted to make step scale changes as presented. City Administrator Ryan Throckmorton said the cost savings from the higher sergeant salary will more than cover the officer step scale increase in the 2025 budget. “We are in competition for officers with surrounding departments,” he noted.
The sign-on bonus in the amount of $10,000 to be paid out on each anniversary year over four years was approved unanimously after some discussion.
Councilman Steve Hall said he didn’t think we have enough police officers, as they are not visible in our community. The possibility of hiring a fourth officer was discussed. Sass said right now we need a third officer; we can look into budgeting for a fourth officer in the future. He admitted that they have been short staffed and sometimes stretched to cover three communities.
Reicks asked if the cost of a fourth full-time officer could be offset by less overtime and part time. Sass said the part-time budget would need to be decreased for a fourth full-time officer. Cost would be affected by health insurance for a single person or a family. Throckmorton suggested at this time they could fund about 60% of the cost of a fourth officer, and can continue working toward a fourth officer.
2025 Budget
The council unanimously approved the preliminary budget/levy for 2025. The preliminary levy was set at $1,274,789, which will result in a property tax increase of 6.08%. This represents an increase over 2024 of $73,084. Every one percent of levy increase equals about $12,000.
Health insurance cost did come in about $7,200 less than estimated, or roughly one-half of a percent. Reicks noted they do have the option to lower the levy more before certification in December.
Throckmorton stated bond savings and State Street Tax revenue will be put back into street reserves.
Other Business in Brief
- Julie Sogla, owner of Preston Storehouse at 144 Main St. SW, had requested approval to build an ADA (American with Disabilities Act) ramp to the Storehouse. The ramp is to have handrails and have a clearance of 36 inches inside the handrails. Aug said he was in favor of making things more accessible. Hall added he had no objection to the ramp but felt there should be a continuity in design of the ADA ramps around town. The ramp was approved as requested.
- A request from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation for the annual appropriation from the city in the amount of $1,000 was approved.
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