The Lake City City Council is exploring options to hire and retain officers to rebuilding the police department. During the last city council meeting, Calhoun County Sheriff, Pat Riley updated the members on services the Sheriff’s Office was providing to the city. Since July 5 when the agreement went into effect, Calhoun County Sheriff deputies provided service to 57 calls, and patrol costs for 169 regular hours and 29 hours of over-time, which is approximately $6,664, not including administrative cost. Council members discussed options to attract officers, which included; removing the moving stipend and raising the hiring bonus for certified officers to $10,000 and a $15,000 bonus for a Chief of Police position. That is an increase of $5,000 for a hiring bonus for certified officers if they commit to a four-year contract. Around this time last year, city council approved increasing police officers’ salary to $25 per hour if not certified, which would increase to $27 once through training, but could be more based on previous experience. No decision was made, and city officials will be consulting with the Iowa League of Cities for examples and clarification of other agreements established in cities similar to Lake City to be reviewed at the next city council meeting.
