RED WING, Minn. – The Goodhue County Board has increased its charge for policing provided to rural towns that don’t have their own police departments. The charge will go to $71 an hour, a 13% hike. Affected are Pine Island, population 3,700; Goodhue, 1,200; Wanamingo, 1,100; Dennison, 200; and Bellechester, 180. The County Board attributed the increase to the cost of new policing technology like body cameras. The Board at first planned an increase to $87 an hour but backed off to resistance from the client communities. Instead: Increase are being phased in over three years. Also: Client communities have an option to reduce the number of deputy hours they buy from the county. Pine Island, as an example, contracts for 18 hours a day for deputy patrols.
Winona County not so
The Winona County sheriff’s office provides policing without any surcharges to outlying communities that don’t have their own police departments. These include Altura, Dakota, Dresbach, Minnesota City, Bodine, Ridgeway, Rollingstone, Stockton, Utica, Wilson, Witoka.