Nearly two weeks ago, the Goodhue City Council accepted resignations from the town's entire police force, which included a police chief, one full-time officer and five part-time officers.
Two days ago, those resignations went into full effect, meaning that Goodhue is officially without a police force.
This wasn't some sort of symbolic mutiny or power play by the officers. Goodhue — with a population of about 1,200 — simply lacks the tax base and budget to pay anything close to market rate for full-time, city-funded law enforcement. Its police officers were earning $22 an hour — about $10 an hour less than sheriff's deputies earn in Goodhue County, and $14 below the mean officer pay nationwide.
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With a wage gap like that, resignations aren't just understandable — they're inevitable.
The good news is that Goodhue residents won't be left entirely without law enforcement. The city already has inked a deal with Goodhue County to get coverage from the sheriff's department. It won't be full-time, and town residents won't likely see uniformed officers nearly as often as they used to, but when people need help or are victims of a crime, their calls will be answered.
To be honest, we must confess some level of surprise that a town the size of Goodhue still had a full-time police force. The cost of paying, insuring and equipping police officers has become too much for many small towns to handle. Goodhue joins Spring Grove, Morris , Wheaton and Ortonville on...
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