Supervisors Say Mahaska Communities Must Share Equally In Police Protection Costs

Mahaska County Sheriff’s Department

Oskaloosa, Iowa – As the summer concert season was about to get underway in the historic bandstand, the Mahaska County Board of Supervisors held a work session with the leaders of the incorporated towns in Mahaska County.

Currently, the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office fulfills four contracts between the cities and the Mahaska County Board of Supervisors. “By code, we need contracts with all of them,” Mahaska County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Groenendyk said to those in attendance.

The Mahaska County Attorney Andrew Ritland served notice to the communities attorneys that they were not in compliance with state code.

“Andrews idea was to have a work session because I think we’ve been charging some cities anywhere from $10 to $25,” Gorenendyk said of the rough numbers on cost per hour being charged for police protection. “I don’t think the county can do it for that.”

University Park Mayor George Toubekis asked if the new agreements would start next fiscal year.

According to Iowa Code, incorporated communities must have their certified budgets submitted in March for certification.

Mahaska County Sheriff Russ Van Renterghem had told the four communities when asked before budget discussions took place last fall that he was satisfied with the current agreements, but that he had notified a couple of the communities they were potentially looking at rate increases for police protection.

“We are not in the business of making money. We’re not in the business of losing money either,” said Van Renterghem. “I don’t want to create a hardship for anybody this year. I don’t. I said I was satisfied for another year when they first called me.”

“For the record, on February 20th, we had a meeting with the sheriff,” Groenendyk said to those gathered. “When you guys said you talked to the sheriff, we let him know then that there’s going to have to be some changes in the 28E’s. There’s some deputies that pert near got some 19.8% raises. These deputies patrol your cities. It’s not our responsibility as a corporation at this end to provide police protection for a loss. There is a difference between a sheriff’s responsibilities and police protection.”

Groenendyk told those in attendance that the cost per deputy per hour is $37.18. “We’re getting reimbursed $10 per hour.”

Jim Hughes, Mayor of Beacon, asked Groenendyk what he was thinking the rate was going to be then.

“We’re not in here to do it for a loss,” Groenendyk responded.

Van Renterghem addressed Groenendyk’s comments about the two big raises. “Like we discussed in our budget meeting, I feel that was part of the union contract, which is no more, I understand that. We discussed all of that. You guys approved those raises in my budget meeting, and how many things are we going to blame those two big raises on?”

The Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office ended their union, and the raises were recommended to bring deputies up to the pay level that had been promised under that contract.

Hughes asked the supervisors if the $38.17 was going to be the cost for the police protection. The supervisors didn’t answer the question, only saying that number didn’t include the cost of the car and the electronics inside the car.

Toubekis asked the supervisors what they are proposing for a contract.

“It’s my thoughts, we need to at least get our money back for the deputy,” Groenendyk responded. “And I’m thinking at least four or five dollars for the car, and all the electronics in it.”

Hughes asked, “How much for the car?”

“Five dollars an hour,” Groenendyk responded.

“But Mark, they’re already paying in part of my budget already. They’re already putting money toward my budget,” Van Renterghem stated.

“We was first elected, I’m going to be honest with you, Russ and I had this conversation up front. I thought it was double dipping too. To be honest with you,” Groenendyk told the room. “I spoke with an attorney by the name of Carl Salmons. A lot of you think highly of him because of another issue we’ve got going on. He’s the one that told me police protection is totally different than sheriff’s protection. Police protection is made fair and legal in the eyes of the law by the Iowa Legislature, not by supervisors. They are two different things.”

Groenendyk said that the county is currently providing 40 hours of police protection to the four communities that currently contract that service from them. “Let’s just double that to 80. We could do with two less deputies and two less cars if we weren’t doing police protection.”

The representative from Eddyville asked Groenendyk that when the supervisors were having budget meetings in January, “wouldn’t that have been a good time to have had this meeting?”

“It probably would have been,” responded Groenendyk.

Leighton representative said, “In our eyes, you’re dropping this on us after we’ve already have our budgets made in March. You can’t expect all of us to go and amend our budgets now for this.”

“It doesn’t even give us a chance to consider raising our own property taxes to help cover our costs because we don’t have it in the budget,” said another community representative to the board. “Well obviously we know you don’t care.”

“That’s a nice assumption,” Groenendyk responded. “How many of you got the deputies or the sheriff comes to your city council meetings every month?”

Toubekis said that he had asked if the number in the agreement was going to be good enough.

“And so when we tell the sheriff there’s going to be changes, and it’s not relayed to you, is that all our fault?” asked Groenendyk. “How many of you have reached out to us and asked us if there was going to be any changes?”

The contracts that are put in place for police protection are between the supervisors, or the county, and the cities seeking protection. The sheriff’s office is the one that then fulfills the contract on behalf of the county.

“How come you didn’t come to our council meetings and explain this to us,” asked Hughes of the supervisors.

George Toubekis asked Groenendyk if they could have the supervisors meetings at night so everyone could participate.

“George, we’ve had a lot of meetings, this EMA/911 thing, at nights, and you never came to one of them,” Groenendyk said to Toubekis.

“I never came to one of the 911 meetings?” Toubekis said questioning Groenendyk. “I’ve only missed one.”

“The supervisors had some special meetings at night here George, and you didn’t come to any of them,” Groenendyk said in response.

Oskaloosa News asked Toubekis about those meetings. Toubekis explained that he’s not on the 911 Board and has missed one meeting for the Emergency Management Commission.

“Let’s stay on topic,” said Toubekis to Groenendyk. “You’re coming to us in June saying you need more money for sheriff’s protection?”

“Let me ask you this? Why is the sheriff coming to you with contracts when he knew we weren’t going to approve them,” Groenendyk said.

“I don’t remember the conversation you keep referring to Mark,” said Van Renterghem. “I’m not saying it didn’t happen, I’m telling you I don’t remember you sitting here at this table in my budget meeting telling me you have to raise those contracts.”

“Did we not talk about changes had to take place?” Groenendyk said in response.

“I remember we talked about it, I just don’t remember, but I don’t remember saying we had to make changes,” said Mahaska County Supervisor Steve Parker.

“One thing that kind of brings this up now is these 28E agreements expire July 1st,” said Mahaska County Supervisor Steve Wanders.

The cities argued that they have already signed the new contracts, and their budgets are set, and their next council meetings are scheduled for the first part of June, giving them little time to go over the supervisors requested 28E contracts.

Groenendyk said the supervisors hadn’t approved those contracts.

Without those contracts in place, the cities would then be in violation of Iowa Code.

Barnes City representative asked Groenendyk if there had ever been a 28E agreement between their city and the county.

“There’s supposed to be one between the county and every city,” Groenendyk responded.

She spoke about an email that Barnes City received from their attorney telling them about the need to have a contract for police protection.

Mahaska County Attorney Andrew Ritland explained that the Iowa Code provides that each incorporated community either has to have their own police protection or contract for police protection.

“Let’s cut to the chase, we all know we’ve got to do this, whether we like it or not,” said the Barnes City representative. “Have you figured out what every town is going to pay. Do you already have that figured out?”

Groenendyk said that he had roughed out an amount of $37.18 an hour for the deputy and $5 an hour for the car. He says that amount comes out to about $31.00 per resident of each town for the year.

“For how many hours though Mark?” Van Renterghem asked.

Wanders said that the people that live in the rural portion of Mahaska County are subsidizing the smaller communities police protection.

“So is Oskaloosa. So is New Sharon,” said Groenendyk.

City leaders asked the supervisors what would happen if they aren’t able to get an agreement in place by the first of July, because they only have one more meeting before that deadline.

Community leaders asked if the county would come after them legally. “I’m not coming after you,” replied Groenendyk. “All I’m doing here is trying to follow the code. I’m trying to honor the law.”

“So what happens if the city just ignores it?” another community leader asked.

“Then the county attorney can file an injunction with the court and have the court order you to get it,” Groenendyk explained.

“Is the county attorney going to do it,” the community leader asked.

Mahaska County Attorney Andrew Ritland said, “Well, I would say it’s my responsibility to enforce the provisions of the code if I am aware of a violation of the code; it’s my statutory duty to address it. So I would say that if a city does not either have its own police force or does not have a agreement with some other entity, be it Mahaska, Poweshiek, Oskaloosa PD, whatever, if they don’t have either of those things, they are in volation to the code, and at that point I would feel obligated to have that rectified.”

“That’s just my job,” Ritland said.

Leaders said, “We’ve followed the code and certified, and now we get hit with this.” Asking that the county continue with the agreements in place, and then have the discussion for the next fiscal year when it’s budget time.

“You can’t just throw this in my lap and say you’ve got to have it by July,” said Toubekis. “Come on dude, we’ve got to work together here.”

“George, I don’t know what else to tell ya. We told the sheriff in February that we’re not happy with these contracts. Has he relayed that message to you since February?” Groenendyk asked of Toubekis.

“You’re not going to honor that contract?” Toubekis asked.

The city leaders asked Groenendyk what was decided at that February meeting. “I recall $10 per hour is not going to be sufficient to do police protection.”

Van Renterghem explained that he was using some reserve deputies that are paid $10 an hour to fulfill police protection hours for the cities.

“We’re not covering the cities contracts with reserves,” Groenendyk said to Van Renterghem. “And I’ve talked to a reserve, and they said they patrol the city for an hour, then go and drive up and down 92 and drive up 163 for an hour. They go hit another city for an hour, so even all those 8 hours we’re not even doing the patrol.”

“If I bring them [reserve] in, and I tell them your assignment tonight is to spend four hours in Eddyville. I want you hitting the little league games, I want you driving by the bar, I want you checking the cemetery to make sure there’s nobody out there doing things they shouldn’t be, they spend four hours in Eddyville,” Van Renterghem said in response to Groenendyk’s comment. “If they are out on patrol or they are volunteering for patrol, yes they do an hour there, they run to Fremont and do an hour, or swing up through Rose Hill on their way to Barnes City. They may swing over to New Sharon and help Kevin on a call.”

“If I assign them, and I’m paying them for patrol time, they’re doing those hours in Eddyville, or Fremont, or where I assign them,” Van Renterghem said.

“If a reserve told you, oh Russ, Russ told me to spend six hours patrolling Eddyville, and I’m paying him, and he’s not doing it, one of two things is happening. I’m not aware of it, he’s lying to you, or he’s volunteering his time.”

“I’m just telling you with the hours we’ve paid out; it’s a little over eight hours a week, and some of those hours are not even in patrolling,” Groenendyk said to Van Renterghem.

Groenendyk argued that Van Renterghem had told them that they had picked up all the hours with reserves, “to cover the cheap costs, and it’s not happening. There’s not enough recorded hours…”

“No they don’t do them all,” Van Renterghem said to Groenendyk. “No, no, no Mark. If you remember right, back when Eddyville wanted to increase theirs by 20 hours a month, we went from 40 a month, and they wanted to go to 60, that’s what I told you I would need the reserves to do. As I told you then, I don’t have enough staff, full-time staff, to even add 20 hours.”

“I needed them [reserves] to cover the extra hours In Eddyville,” Van Renterhem added.

Groenendyk said that the reserve deputy he had spoken with talked about covering when high line wires were down and guarding a road.

“Those deputies were not being paid contract time that night,” Van Renterghem said of the volunteer hours reserve deputies perform.

Van Renterghem said the reserve deputies perform at least two times more volunteer time than paid contract time.

“That gets back to my other point Mark,” said Van Renterghem. “Have a question about my reserve unit, come see me. Wouldn’t that make sense instead of undermining my authority with one of my units? Seriously, I’m asking you a serious question. Doesn’t that make sense?”

“I went and asked the reserves after you said in a public meeting that they pick up the additional hours,” Groenendyk said.

Going back to the 28E agreements, city leaders asked Groenendyk if they were going to be charged a per capita or an hourly rate so they could take it back to their council for discussion.

“I’ll leave it up to you,” said Groenendyk of each municipalities option on how to pay for the police protection. “I’m good either way.”

After some discussion, it was determined there was no minimum amount of hours that had to be spent providing police service, only that a community had to have a contract to provide police protection.

Ultimately after two hours of discussion, the supervisors and city representatives hammered out an agreement to allow them enough time to work with their councils on how to move forward, and not have the threat of prosecution over their head for a few months.

Cities that had no contract before may be exploring having just 1 hour of patrol service for the year that they pay for, so it doesn’t harm the budget or make their file with the state and amended budget.

Supervisors and city leaders plan to start negotiations in the fall for the next fiscal year.