GOODHUE. Minn. – Police Chief Josh Smith is holding down the fort at the Goodhue police station – perhaps by himself, it’s unclear – after submitting his resignation and after other officers immediately walked away from their jobs in sympathy. Smith resigned at a City Council meeting Wednesday after the Council refused his recommendation for pay increases.. Although Smith resigned, he didn’t make it effective immediately. Even so, at least two other officers flat-out quit in support of the chief. Mayor Terry Buck has called an emergency City Council meeting for Monday but has failed to respond to news media queries. In fact, there appears to be an attempt to keep what’s happened hush-hush. The video of Wednesday’s Council meeting was never posted on YouTube, contrary to normal practice. Meanwhile, sources said, the mayor is surveying police salaries at other small towns and reviewing Smith’s recommendation for recruiting an additional officer.
Smith. In Goodhue 11 years. Age 39.
Goodhue policing
The police force in Goodview, population 1,200, is small – the chief and two full-time officers and two part-timers. The county seat is 20 miles away in Red Wing, where Sheriff Marty Kelly can provide policing services to Goodhue on short notice.