By Sara StrongThe Luverne City Council Tuesday rejected another law enforcement contract proposal from Rock County — and was about to terminate the existing contract, when council members decided to give the county until Monday to accept a new city proposal.Rock County Commissioners don’t have a scheduled meeting with a quorum until Tuesday, however.Councilman Pat Baustian said, "I think we are more than fair in this latest proposal. It’s the closest we’ve been so far. … I think this is the last straw."He added that city taxpayers will be better off with this option than with the last the county proposed.The city’s new proposal would give $510,950 in direct payments to the county. City Administrator Greg LaFond said it’s important to note that city taxpayers will also contribute $155,656 to law enforcement through their county taxes.The latest county proposal would have the city paying $673,599, and keep services at the same level. With city taxpayers’ contributions to the county, that would be about $801,000.The county said that without a direct payment of at least $669,000, it can’t guarantee services will be kept above minimum standards.Sept. 1 is deadline for canceling the contract, which doesn’t expire until the end of 2005.City Attorney Ben Vander Kooi said Tuesday that he recommended the city terminate the law enforcement contract. "I question whether it’s good public policy to have the city write a check and the county control the money from there," Vander Kooi said.LaFond said, "We would suggest, that because we are at the 11th hour here, that the council reject the Aug. 12 proposal, submit the city’s proposal, and as for a response by Monday. If the county doesn’t accept it, then terminate the law enforcement agreement."He said that costs for contract law with Rock County are escalating and will cost Luverne taxpayers $1 million by 2008.Vander Kooi said he had wanted to work out an agreement to contract with the county, but lost hope after the county’s last proposal. He said it would end up costing Luverne more than previous proposals, and didn’t address Luverne’s issues with how the department was financed.He reminded the council that law enforcement is a county obligation under state law, not an obligation of the city.The county’s proposal for 2006 through 2010 was:oThe city of Luverne would pay the same per capita sum as charged to other contract municipalities, which would be $34.50 per capita starting in 2006.oAdditional patrol services would be purchased at a rate of $50 per hour.oThe city would split the cost of the crossing guards with the school district, amounting to $13,000 to $15,000 for the city. oThe city would pay the cost of the DARE program. It was a city program before joint law, and county leaders believe it should return to the city.Luverne currently receives 30 hours of dedicated patrol hours under the existing contract. The new proposal from the county would provide one hour of patrol per day along with ordinance enforcement and other additional duties now provided by the department.To maintain the current level of service, remaining 29 hours of patrol would be purchased at the $50 per hour rate. This would be an extra charge because it is beyond the base level service that all county residents receive.The county says that that without the contract for more hours, the Sheriff’s Department might not be able to afford the investigator position, K-9 unit, forced entry team, hazardous material training, drug task force participation, or other specialized services.City’s proposal, effective through 2006 was:oThe county should reduce capital expenses by $40,000, spending $50,000.oThe city would assume crossing guard expenses with the school as a partner, or about $13,000.oInmate per diem, medical expenses and bailiff expenses would be separated from the rest of the budget, and the city would pay $20,000 toward this.oThe city would contract for 184 hours of patrol time per week. The city would make a direct payment of $36 per hour for patrol services, or a total of $344,450. oThe city would make a direct payment of $120,500 for law enforcement center expenses. Direct payments and city taxes collected by the county would mean a combined payment of 47 percent of the budget.City Administrator LaFond said he hopes negotiations continue, even if the city cancels the current contract.
