The Clearwater City Council decided Monday it wasn’t necessary to add more than $100,000 to the city’s levy to increase its police protection.

 

After a 30-minute discussion with representatives from the Wright County Sheriff’s Dept., the council voted to keep coverage the way it is - eight hours a day.

 

In 2005, the city council voted to increase coverage from four to eight hours a day. It remained that way until 2008 when the council decided to add another four hours a day.

 

The city reduced its coverage back to eight hours starting January, 2014, cutting the city police protection budget by more than $80,000.

 

Monday, Wright County Investigations Lieutenant Jake Lutgens said eight hours of coverage a day probably isn’t  enough for Clearwater.

 

“With the Interstate, the amount of traffic coming through here, the calls for service, the area cars coming to take the calls in town, it’s about time to take a look at your hours of service,” he told members of the council.

 

A report presented to the council showed there were 2,181 calls for service in 2016. Of those, 1,142 turned into case reports and required further investigation.

 

The largest number was traffic stops at 472, with thefts next at 227.

 

Mayor Pete Edmonson pointed out the thefts weren’t all person-on-person.

 

“I understand what you’re saying,” he said, “but when you look at 227 calls for theft, how many of those are just gas drive-offs?”    

 

“They’re still crimes. Somebody has to respond to them,” said Operations Captain Captain Dan Anselment. He said the sheriff’s department is beginning to see an increase in calls in Clearwater between the hours of 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., which is not covered in the city’s contract hours.

 

Instead, a patrol car that covers the entire northwest area of the county responds to the city.

 

“We’re starting to see the area car being monopolized,” he said. “It might be a gas drive off, but businesses like the Travel Plaza and other gas stations expect an officer to be there within a reasonable period of time to take that investigation.”

 

Anselment said Clearwater most likely has the highest number of gas drive-offs of any city in the county.

 

“The officer treats it like any other call, he responds, gets the report, makes phone calls....” he said.

 

Lutgens said the department is looking to find a solution that works for both Clearwater and the sheriff’s department.

 

“You did have 12 hours (a day) for many years. It worked out extremely well.

 

We’re trying to get you back to that point,” he said.

 

“We’re not going to say you need it if we don’t think you need it, but I think Clearwater has got the activities to definitely support another four hours, especially between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.”

 

Councilman Kris Crandall said he was a proponent of going back to 12 hours of coverage a day. He said he especially liked the idea of having a deputy in town when kids are getting off the school buses.

 

Council Member Andrea Lawrence agreed.

 

Councilman Richard Petty suggested looking ahead to the following year.

 

The city is currently paying $202,940 for the contract. It would increase to $315,360 if the council approved the change to 12 hours.

 

“If we look at increasing it, I think we would have to look at it for the 2019 budget,” said Petty. 

 

Lutgens said law enforcement is a lot about perception.

 

“People want to feel safe. They want the law enforcement officer stopping by the businesses, stopping by the blocks, saying ‘hi’ to the kids, being visible out there so they feel safe and secure,” he said. “Do we think we can do that with eight hours? We think we can do okay, but we think we can do a better job with 12 hours - more visibility and more time to investigate.”

 

 

“If we could find a way to cut 10% (off the budget), or if our numbers were such that we could raise the levy 10% and the tax payers would be fine with it, or of the residents were really asking for it...” he said. “But the $100,000 is just too hard to swallow right now.”

 

“It doesnt sound like there’s too much appetite for this year, but hopefully we don’t wait until your residents are calling and complaining and asking for it,” said Lutgens.                

 

“Hopefully, we can work out a solution that everyone comfortable with. We’ll continue to work with Clearwater and see what we can come up with in the next year or two.”