The police force in Goodhue, Minnesota, will be entirely vacant starting Aug. 24 after its chief and employees all resigned, citing recruiting issues and pay as major factors.
Goodhue, a town of less than 1,300, is located about 45 miles southeast of St. Paul.
Through Aug. 23, Goodhue Police Chief Josh Smith and another officer will remain on the Goodhue police force. In the interim as they attempt to rebuild the department, the town will solicit aid from the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief Smith started the cascade by putting in his two weeks notice at a city council meeting last Wednesday in order to take a job in nearby Lake City, Minnesota, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
A full-time officer and five part-time department employees resigned Friday after learning of their boss’ decision.
Chief Smith had also presaged the move by warning at a July 26 council meeting that the load of the town’s police work was growing too heavy to bear.
A third full-time officer had quit in June, leading to Chief Smith’s warning, accompanied by a disclosure that he had himself fielded job offers while trying to recruit.
“But the harsh reality is, I don’t want to be the guy working 80 hours a week just running this PD, being on call 24 hours a day, which I already am, and leaving no time for my family,” Chief Smith said.
The department, he said, was unable to get recruits due to a low offering of pay and lack of entry bonuses compared to other police departments in the region.
“Trying to hire at $22 an hour, you’re never going to see another person again walk through those doors,” Chief Smith told the council on July 26, explaining that other smaller police forces start the pay scale at around $30 per hour.
For Chief Smith and his existing force, Goodhue had been willing and able to up their compensation, giving the force a 5% pay bump and Mr. Smith a $13,000 raise earlier this year, according to the Associated Press.
Neither residents nor officials had been publicly dissatisfied with the police department’s performance.
“Our officers were very visible. We just knew if we needed them, they would be there,” Goodhue resident Roxanne Fischer told the Star-Tribune.
At a meeting Monday night, Goodhue officials were left bereft, soon to be without a town police force to speak of.
“Everybody knows everybody. This is heartbreaking to us,” Goodhue Mayor Ellen Anderson Buck said at the meeting.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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