Daniels County commissioners approve dissolution of interlocal law‑enforcement agreement with Scobby; city funds to move to Public Safety Commission

On Jan. 20, 2026, the Daniels County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a stipulation dissolving the county’s interlocal agreement with the city of Scobby for general law‑enforcement services and discussed how the city’s pledged contribution will be handled going forward.

County staff told commissioners the city has taken the necessary action on its side and expects to transfer its pledged funds to the newly formed Public Safety Commission rather than continue billing the county for sheriff services. Commissioners and staff discussed how that change would affect annual budgeting: the city’s contribution—described repeatedly in the meeting as approximately $148,000 a year (plus roughly $10,000 for operations such as fuel and tires)—had been billed under the sheriff’s general‑fund expenditures when deputies were staffed, and moving those dollars into a separate Public Safety Commission fund will change how payroll and operating costs are tracked.

The board’s debate focused on two practical questions: whether to continue the existing billing arrangement through the end of the fiscal year to preserve current accounting and quarterly reporting, and how to set up a separate public‑safety fund next fiscal year so the city’s money can be tracked and used for commission priorities. Commissioners said the immediate plan is to finish the current fiscal year with the existing billing practice and to work with the city and county finance staff to identify the exact amount the city earmarked and any excess funds that should be transferred to the commission’s account.

Commissioners also discussed options for the funds’ use while the county is not yet fully staffed with deputies: one option is to run a single public‑safety fund that combines mill‑levy revenues, the historic sheriff budget, and the city’s transfer; another is to keep a separate public‑safety account for discretionary projects until payroll is moved into that fund. County staff said the Public Safety Commission would prepare budgets and periodic reports for both the commissioners and the city; the city would receive commission‑level accounting summaries rather than line‑item billing for each deputy.

The board approved the stipulation to dissolve the interlocal agreement (motion, seconded, voice vote recorded as carried). Commissioners asked county staff and the county attorney to follow up with the city to confirm the exact dollar amount the city will transfer and to prepare the accounting steps needed to create the separate public‑safety fund ahead of the next budget cycle.

Next steps: county finance staff will seek clarification from the city about the earmarked amount and the possible excess, document the transfer mechanism, and report back to the commission before finalizing fiscal‑year accounting changes.