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North St. Paul approves higher annual fee for Ramsey County SWAT joint powers agreement
Summary
The North St. Paul City Council approved an increase in its annual payment to the Ramsey County Sheriff Emergency Response Teams joint powers agreement from $5,000 to $12,000, citing rising county costs and training benefits; councilors raised questions about frequency of use, budgeting notice and operational value.
The North St. Paul City Council voted to approve participation in the Ramsey County Sheriff Emergency Response Teams joint powers agreement and accept an increase in the city’s annual participation fee from $5,000 to $12,000.
Council members said they wanted clarification on the jump in cost and whether the city had used the service frequently enough to justify the increase. "It seems like we're buying into a membership for something on the off chance that we might need it," a council member said during discussion, noting the fee more than doubled from prior years.
City staff said Ramsey County told participating cities that their costs had risen and that the county had held the lower fee longer than appropriate. Staff described the agreement as a mix of operational support and training: in addition to automatic call-outs when local officers need tactical assistance, participation provides training opportunities for North St. Paul officers, including specialty programs and pilots such as a drone program. Staff also noted the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) can provide support in certain situations but that the JPA offers additional local capacity.
Council members pointed to past incidents where outside tactical assistance was used — including a high-speed vehicle pursuit that crashed outside city limits and an instance near the student build site where a SWAT response was required — as examples of intermittent operational need. Council members also asked whether the fee is scaled by population; staff said the Ramsey County fee is a flat amount for participating cities.
A council member raised a procedural concern that the timing of the county notice did not align with the city's budgeting cycle; staff said they had relayed that concern to the sheriff’s office and were told the county would provide earlier notice going forward. "We follow our budgeting and try to plan ahead with this stuff," a council member said.
A motion to approve the agreement was made and seconded. The motion was moved by Council member Woods and seconded by Council member Norby; council members voted in favor and the motion passed. Council discussion and staff remarks emphasized that while the city hopes never to need tactical response, participation provides both operational backup and training opportunities for a small department.
The vote approved the city’s continued participation at the new fee level; staff said they would follow up on future notice timing from Ramsey County and continue to track call-outs and training benefits to report back to the council.
