Nowthen finds a way to fund sheriff's patrols

Thanks to an innovative, 11th-hour funding solution, Anoka County sheriff's deputies will continue to patrol the streets and byways of Nowthen into the New Year.

At a special meeting Thursday, the City Council unanimously adopted a two-year contract for eight hours of daily patrol coverage, averting a sharp reduction in law enforcement service that would have begun Sunday for the city of 4,000.

Two weeks ago, after the prospect of a tax increase drew a chorus of protests, the council voted not to raise the city's 2012 tax levy to fund patrol coverage. The adopted plan will not increase taxes but will be funded by savings and by cash flow attained from reworking an existing public works bond.

Nowthen was Burns Township before becoming a city in 2008 and until now has received sheriff's service at no cost beyond what all Anoka County taxpayers pay for upkeep of the jail, administration and other shared costs. It had been the only city in the county with neither a sheriff's contract nor a police department.

The Sheriff's Office had been pushing for a contract for about 10 years, with increased pressure when the city incorporated and more recently when Sheriff James Stuart began his term in January. Stuart warned the city this fall that failure to pay its share of a contract would result in severely curtailed patrol service.

Under the new plan, the city will take advantage of low interest rates and refinance the $684,000 balance of a bond taken out in 2006 to build a public works building. The improved rate, combined with a five-year extension and another modification of the bond, will free up $133,000 in the first year and as much as $55,000 a year for the next few years.

That money will be added to an existing emergency services fund to pay for the first two years of sheriff's service and make a down payment on a third.

For its part, the Sheriff's Office found additional savings that lowered the cost of the contract.

Doubts before unanimity

Council Member Orval Leistico needed to be convinced of the efficacy of the new plan, saying he believed the council should continue to slash the budget to find inefficiencies and waste.

"Sooner or later, taxes will have to go up," he said. "I say we start cutting it now, rather than saying we're not going to worry about it for two years."

Other council members said the plan gives them time to seek savings and new revenue streams, and that the council already had done all the cutting it could do without compromising basic requirements.

In the end, Leistico and the other council members voted to approve the plan.

"I'm very pleased that the council elected not to jeopardize our citizens' public safety," Stuart said, adding that he had no judgment about the city's solution. "Nothing surprises me anymore."

He also said he was happy his office could work with the city to find a mutually acceptable solution.

Resident Dale Ames echoed Leistico's early concerns, calling the plan "doable, but it's not perfect. We've just got to plan for the future because there's no question taxes will be going up."

Resident Robert Mahutga noted the difficulty of funding services in a community with a small tax base. "It's a lot easier to pay for when you have a larger revenue stream," he said.