City, county approve law enforcement contract

The Perkins County Sheriff’s Office will continue to provide law enforcement services to the City of Grant after the city and county both approved the one-year agreement. 

City council members gave their approval to the contract during their June 26 meeting while the commissioners approved it at a special meeting June 29.

The current contract that expired June 30 was also a one-year contract. Prior to that, the contract was for a period of four years.

Sheriff Jim Brueggeman said he shifted back to a one-year contract last year. That way the contract is reviewed annually by all parties and changes are easier to make. 

Four years is a long time to tie both entities into a contract, he noted. 

The cost of the new contract, which takes affect July 1, will not increase, City Superintendent Edward Dunn said this week.

The city will pay $94,080 for law enforcement services from the Sheriff’s Office at a monthly rate of $7,840.

The Sheriff’s Office also provides law enforcement for villages of Madrid, Elsie and Venango. 

Madrid pays $19,448 per year; Elsie pays $8,904 per year while Venango pays $13,608 annually.

He expects the villages to approve new contracts at their July meetings. 

County budget time

During Monday’s meeting, Brueggeman told commissioners he is keeping his budget at the Sheriff’s Office at the same level for the new fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Breuggeman also prepares the county’s budget and asked commissioners for some direction for the 2020-21 budget year.

He told commissioners to expect another drop in the valuation with land prices declining. 

Commissioners discussed cost-of-living adjustments for employees and elected officials.

Commissioners did not include themselves in a motion to grant a 3% adjustment for employees and elected officials, which represents $63,000.

Brueggeman said he will make some budget adjustments to keep the tax asking for 2020-21 at the same level as 2019-20. That property tax request totals $3,079,408. 

Other council action

Grant’s city council also approved a five-year contract with M.C. Shaff & Associates of Scottsbluff to serve as the airport engineering company. They had the previous contract with the city. 

Dunn said the airport authority is awaiting federal funding for an Automated Weather Observing System.

Cost of the new system runs $225,000 plus a $25,000 match by the city. 

The AWOS provides continuous, real time information and reports on weather conditions at the Grant airport. 

Dunn said other capital improvement projects to follow include replacement of the beacon and developing plans to widen and extend the current runway.