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Board sets May 20 public hearing on Sheriff's Office drone purchase and policy
Summary
The board scheduled a public hearing for May 20 to solicit citizen comment before the Wabasha County Sheriff’s Office seeks final approval to purchase and deploy a drone; the sheriff’s office said the drone is intended for search-and-rescue and that a use policy will be provided.
WABASHA — The Wabasha County Board set a public hearing for May 20 to allow public comment on the proposed purchase and use of a drone by the Wabasha County Sheriff’s Office.
Rodney Bartsch of the Sheriff’s Office told the board the department has raised charitable gambling funds toward a drone purchase and that the primary purpose is search-and-rescue support for fire and rescue agencies. He said the department developed a draft policy—based on examples from other counties—that will be presented before the public hearing and emphasized the department does not intend the drone for generalized government surveillance.
Bartsch said the department has spent about $20,000 to date on the effort and noted a recent potential tariff increase on imports could add $8,000–$10,000 to the purchase price; the board’s action was to set the hearing date and not to approve the purchase itself. The resolution sets the hearing for May 20 at 9:15 a.m., with the understanding the public hearing will occur after the meeting concludes its closed-session agenda items if necessary.
A commissioner moved to set the public hearing and the motion carried unanimously. Bartsch said the finalized use policy will be provided to the board before the hearing.
