The Audubon City Council has opted to maintain a city-controlled law enforcement presence within the community. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office approached the council earlier this month with an offer to take over patrol duties within city limits following Audubon Police Chief, Matt Starmer’s, retirement announcement. The proposed 28E agreement would dissolve the Audubon Police Department and hand over patrol duties to the county agency. The council did not make a decision following the March 8 proposal, but the topic was brought back for discussion at a special meeting last week. City Clerk, Joe Foran, says the council reached a consensus following that conversation.
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Foran says the biggest positive to Johnson’s proposal was an increase to patrol times in city limits. The presence of administrative assistants at the Sheriff’s Office would cut back on the time spent by officers completing and filing reports. According to Foran, the city spends just over $500,000 per year on law enforcement, and that is about the same amount they would pay the county had the 28E been approved. Foran says the council did not believe the nominal cost savings justified outsourcing their law enforcement.
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There were also some concerns that reforming the department would be a costly proposition if the council decided they were no longer happy with the agreement at some point in the future. With a decision now made, Foran says they can move forward with finding Starmer’s successor. Mayor, Barb Jacobsen, indicated during the March 22 meeting she was hoping to have a hiring recommendation ready for council approval during their April meeting. The city will also begin advertising for another officer. The department will be back to full staff with a chief, and three full-time and several part-time officers once those positions are filled.