Mistake

An incorrect dollar amount was reported at Monday night's Brooten city council meeting as the estimated cost for a police department. The number $110,000 was given, which is way off. There's no way it will cost $85,000 for a one-man force. In fact, after follow up I learned that the $110,000 figure was given from the city of Atwater as an attempt to illustrate how much a PD costs. Fact: in Atwater they have three on their PD staff with 60 hours a week of coverage.

I have other issues with what was said on Monday night in Brooten at January's final regular council meeting. I will address them at a later time.

Gotta admit: it seems like a full-time job keeping track of what goes on with our local government in Belgrade and Brooten! On Brooten's end, I completely understand that it will require extra work for all of us in re-establishing a police department. What are we afraid of? What some have forgotten are two very important facts: 1.) Brooten has had an independent police department in the past, as recently as 2006. 2.) Belgrade currently has a department, although I am wondering if it will dissolve due to lack of applicants for their open police chief position.

We know Belgrade's 2015 budget is $127K. Of that, $81K is earmarked for salaries. There's no possible way that Brooten could spend the difference ($46K) on the other annual costs of a department when Brooten's would be a strictly one-person department and Belgrade's is a two-person department. News flash: of that $46K, Belgrade has budgeted $6,500 for gasoline. It makes sense as their Chevy Tahoe does a whole lot of driving between Belgrade and Brooten. Last I checked, a one-person police department in Brooten would not have the police car making multiple trips between Brooten and Belgrade each week. The Brooten police car will not burn $6,500 a year on gasoline. That is one of multiple examples of how the cost of a Brooten police department will not be as high as the Belgrade police department.

##simpleconcepts