By Mari Radtke
Police protection is a looming issue for the communities south of Highway B40 in O’Brien County. Only Paullina has a single fulltime officer. Primghar has a contract with the O’Brien County Sheriff’s office. According to O’Brien County Sheriff Bruce Devereaux, the Iowa Legislature requires each city to provide law enforcement. It came up at the Sutherland Council meeting that non emergent crimes will not be investigated by the Sheriff’s office.
Several smaller communities throughout O’Brien County have either had a contract with O’Brien County’s Sheriff’s office at various times. That is no longer an option. Devereaux stated, “I’m not interested in a contract.” He went on to say that he has not been asked for short term coverage. When talking about contracts Devereaux said they often “cost more than just money. If we hire (a deputy) under a [city’s] contract we wouldn’t be able to find anyone to apply.” He specified the new deputy just hired from a neighboring county. The new deputy comes fully trained with six years of experience as a sheriff’s deputy.”
Sheriff Devereaux also noted that during local searches he will work with the cities. A deputy will respond to a call in which a person may get hurt. He specified domestic abuse, robberies, assault, or a vicious dog call. This is not necessarily an exhaustive list. He did also say that deputies will not respond to non violent crimes within cities. He also said his deputies will not enforce or write citations for local ordinances or most (non violent) criminal complaints.
Sheriff Devereaux explained that he is willing to help the cities find officers. He identified doing background checks, post tests and psych tests. He also said that often training of new, young officers lands with the sheriff’s office. He says they provide assistance to a local force with investigations and training in that area.
The City of Paullina has been searching for an officer for over a year. Sutherland recently has found itself needing to replace its sole officer. Calumet and Archer are without non emergency coverage.
City Clerk Amanda Vander Hof reported to the council a need to adjust the water deposit for new customers. She explained that by the time a resident’s first bill is turned off for non payment the city is already on the hook for at least $250.00. The council agreed that deposit should cover at anticipated costs for one billing period. They approved the ordinance amendment 2021-01 and waived the second and third readings. It will become effective as soon as it is published.
The council was informed that the Commercial Club would be moving their annual “Retail Trade Show” to early November.
The library report included information about several memorial donations it has received recently and that it was celebrating Dr. Seuss’ birthday throughout March with activities and book promotions to celebrate. The O’Brien County Extension will be at the Sutherland Library on March 18 at 5 pm for their “Read Across Iowa” event. O’Brien County Extension will visit each of O’Brien County’s six open libraries for an hour to read a story and do an activity related to ag education.