Laserfiche WebLink
Sherburne County <br /> SHERIFF <br /> JOEL L. BROTT <br /> November 14, 2013 <br /> Mayor John Dietz <br /> City of Elk River <br /> 13065 Orono Parkway NW <br /> Elk River, MN 55330 <br /> Dear Mayor Dietz: <br /> I enjoyed our discussion concerning the addition of an Elk River Officer to the Sherburne <br /> County Drug Task Force (DTF). I believe that a cooperative effort by both of our agencies will <br /> contribute to a more efficient and effective use of everyone's resources. Collaboration between <br /> both departments ultimately benefits our community by increasing our ability to detect drug and <br /> violent crime, thus, making our community a safer place to live. <br /> You asked me to answer a few questions that have been brought to your attention and that I <br /> provide some background information on the DTF. The first question being, "If the city of Elk <br /> River has 25% of the drug problems, but Elk River pays 25% of the county property tax, why <br /> should we contribute more to deal with the problem?" This question suggests that the Sheriff's <br /> Office should be providing DTF operations as a baseline service to offset or supplement the city <br /> of Elk River Police Department budget. <br /> As an organization, the Sheriff's Office has a past practice of providing full law enforcement <br /> services to townships within the county. We also provide support through agency assists to those <br /> jurisdictions that have their own dedicated law enforcement coverage. <br /> While it's true the city does pay tax dollars to the county, only a percentage of those dollars are <br /> part of the Sheriff's Office public safety and corrections annual budget. These dollars are <br /> dedicated for baseline or essential services which the Sheriff's Office provides to all cities even <br /> though they may have their own police department. Some of these baseline services include 911 <br /> dispatching,jail processes, housing of inmates, transport services, civil process services, criminal <br /> investigations for suspicious deaths, medical examiner services, emergency services, warrant <br /> SHERIFF'S OFFICE <br /> COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER <br /> 13880 Business Center Drive <br /> Elk River, MN 55330-1692 ME YDIE R <br /> Office-(763) 3 <br /> Toll Free-(800)0)433-5245 mwm <br /> Fax-(763)441-7303 <br />