The entire force of the Goodhue Police Department in Minnesota has quit, according to Mayor Ellen Anderson Buck. Speaking at a City Council meeting on Monday, Mayor Buck announced that the entire police department resigned because of meager wages. The city of Goodhue has a population of just over 1,000 people. The City Council met on Monday to discuss their options for the police department. Moreover, the meeting aimed to discuss salary hikes for the department. However, the team quit before it happened.
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During a City Council meeting last Wednesday, Police Chief Josh Smith submitted his resignation. A full-time officer and five part-time employees resigned two days later.
Will wages increase for the Minnesota police force?
According to Mayor Buck,
“Since the resignations have been handed in by our police department, it has been recommended by our city attorney that at this point we need to pursue our other options. So, at this point, there’s no reason to really talk about pay increases, since we no longer have a police force.”
During a July 26 City Council meeting, now-resigned Police Chief Smith said that there were zero applicants for the department. Moreover, he said that other law enforcement agencies were trying to recruit him and his colleagues.
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According to Smith, “Trying to hire at $22 an hour, you’re never going to see another person again walk through those doors. That’s it. Unless you guys do a dramatic change.”
Smith reiterated the urgency of the matter. He also pointed out that other smaller police departments pay at least $30 an hour. He stated, “There’s zero incentive to come out here to a small town, low pay, being on call, affecting your free time and everything else.”
Mayor Buck said that she is in contact with Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office. A meeting was held yesterday to discuss police coverage for the interim period. According to the Mayor, the Goodhue Police Department in Minnesota will be on duty only till Aug. 24.
