Ashland County ended payments to La Pointe on Madeline Island to maintain law enforcement services
A Lake Superior island town fears it may no longer be able to provide around-the-clock law enforcement services after Ashland County nixed an agreement to share policing costs.
The town of La Pointe on Madeline Island is home to around 350 people year-round, but the Lake Superior island community is a bustling tourist destination that draws 7 times as many people during the summer.
In the past, the island maintained its police force through the help of funding from the mainland county's sheriff's department. That helped the island community have emergency services, and kept the sheriff's department from having to respond to routine calls across the water. But last year, Ashland County announced they were withdrawing from the deal.
Now, the town’s administrator Michael Kuchta worries police may not be available to respond when there's an emergency on the island. He said the community is faced with raising funds or cutting hours to maintain service after Ashland County notified the town last year that it would no longer provide $135,000 to the island community for law enforcement services and response. The county had agreed to pay the town to "help defray law enforcement costs" for almost three decades.
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