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Council tables Jonesborough plan to pay county for two deputies, requests legal review
Summary
After a lengthy discussion and public comment, the Grant County Council voted to table a proposal from Jonesborough to reimburse the county for two deputies and requested an executive session for legal/contractual review; the sheriff and Jonesborough representatives said the plan would be county employment reimbursed to the auditor.
Grant County's sheriff asked the council to approve a reimbursement arrangement under which Jonesborough would pay the county to fund two deputy positions that would patrol Jonesborough but remain county employees. Sheriff Garcia (identified in later discussion) said the deputies would be employees of the Grant County Sheriff's Office and that Jonesborough would reimburse salaries and benefits to the county auditor.
Clayton Soles, a Jonesborough city councilor who attended the meeting, told the county council that Jonesborough has repeatedly struggled to recruit and retain officers and argued it was more efficient to have the county provide continuous coverage while the town reimburses the cost.
Some council members welcomed the additional coverage but raised concerns about precedent, "soft costs" the county would absorb (vehicles, radios, equipment and liability), and whether the county would effectively assume responsibility for local policing functions. Others questioned why Jonesborough had not pursued alternative municipal solutions and sought the town's full police budget for comparison.
County legal counsel warned there are contractual and legal issues in the union agreement that should be discussed in executive session. After debating the policy, council member Poehling moved, with a second from Hicks, to table the Jonesborough proposal until the December meeting and schedule an executive session beforehand to study union and contractual ramifications. The motion carried and the item will return in December with additional legal review and budget figures from Jonesborough.
Next steps: County attorney to review union contract and related legal issues in executive session; Jonesborough to provide its police budget and detailed proposal; item returns to the December council meeting for a final decision.
