Peosta council agrees to pursue replacing departing officer, asks chief for activity data

Peosta’s City Council discussed a police vacancy and agreed to pursue hiring a replacement after learning Officer Zach will leave effective May 11.

Council members emphasized public-safety benefits of round-the-clock police coverage in a small city with a volunteer fire department. Several members said they preferred preserving 24/7 overnight coverage, arguing an officer on patrol can materially reduce response time for medical and other urgent calls.

The chief offered to provide the council with recent activity statistics and reminded members that officers perform proactive services beyond emergency calls, such as business checks, fingerprinting and vehicle inspections. “I can assure you that our officers are they’re busy on their — and by what I say is do we get calls for service as in like, you know, like calls all the time? Sometimes yes, but sometimes no. We do get people calling in saying that they want my fingerprints or want vehicle inspections,” the chief said during the discussion, offering to supply the quarterly numbers at the next meeting.

Public commenters also urged the council to prioritize safety and to hire another officer.

The council directed staff and the chief to proceed with recruitment and to provide statistics and supporting data for a hiring decision at an upcoming meeting. Several council members volunteered to participate in ride-alongs to observe patrol activity.

What’s next: staff to post the vacancy and begin recruitment; the chief will provide recent activity logs and comparative statistics for council consideration.