City attorney says county won’t arrange jail time for women and dispatch gaps ‘put officers at risk’

City Attorney Rob Fleming told the Grafton City Council that the city’s agreement with Walsh County to house municipal inmates has failed in practice for female detainees because the county will not make arrangements to house women in Grafton. Fleming said Walsh County’s reason is lack of compensation for making arrangements; the city is contacting the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center to arrange placements for women who must serve jail time.

Fleming also described operational limits with Walsh County dispatch after an incident in which a Grafton officer asked dispatch whether a person had a federal warrant and was initially told the dispatch office would not provide that service. Fleming described the resulting sequence of calls—officer to chief, chief to sheriff, sheriff to dispatch—before confirming the warrant, and said, “our officers are being put at risk.” Fleming said he will write to the Attorney General asking what services Walsh County dispatch is legally required to provide and that the city may explore options including asking how 911 fee revenue collected from Grafton could be used to support local dispatching.

No county representatives were recorded as responding during the meeting. The council did not take immediate formal action on the dispatch matter but accepted Fleming’s recommendation to pursue legal guidance and alternative housing arrangements for female inmates.