INFORMATION #3 08-12-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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They have no problem with the level of service they are getting from the Elk River Police Department, but say they can't justify spending crime levy dollai~s on a pro- gram they get for free m Rogers and Zimmerman. "How do I report fiscal responsibility to my con- stituents?'' School Board Member Patricia Scharber asked. School Board members object to spending a higher portion of the crime levy in Elk River than in the north- ern and southern reaches of the school district. They also have a philosophical belief that police officers they should not pay for police serv- Ices. They want to use money from their crime levy to add security systems a~ schools throughout t. he school district in response to break-ins in the district this past year. School officials have asked Klinzing and Zerwas ~o ask the city to take over the cost of the liaison program, or they will pursue an arrange- ment with Sherburne County as early as Jan. 1. Anderson already provides liaison services and/or D.A.R.E. programming in St. Cloud, Clear Lake, Becker and Zimmerman. If asked, he said Monday he would pro- vide a high quality service for free and evaluate the pro- gram at the end of the school year to see if it could be improved. He can afford co offer the services because the revenue generated by the jail. "Why would be pay for something we can get for free?" said Mark Stra~er, chairman of the Elk River Area School Board. Elk River Police Chief Tom Zerwas is. troubled by the potential loss of Elk River police working in the schools. "There's tremendous value in having juvenile officers in the schools for solving crimes in and outside of the schools in the city of Elk River," Zerwas said. He's also concerned that the con~ac~ his officers would have with youth would be limited to negative contacts through traffic stops and so forth. He said it would take time before county officers could establish the relation, ships and kinds of experi- ences his liaison officers have with students. Anderson said he would pro- vide as good a service to the school district. Zerwas would like the school district to follow through on its agreement with the city, but has asked the school district ~o wait a~ least a year before making changes to the liaison pro- gram. Anderson told the School Board it has been difficult to be: in the middle, of the debate, and urged members of the School Board Monday night to proceed in a profes- sional manner so that all of the parties can walk away from the table without har- boring ill feelings. 'Why would we pay for something we can get for free?' -Mark Strater Chairman of the Board The Elk River chief and Assistant Police Chief Jeff Beahen have said they have no control over what the City Council tells them ~o spend and predicted last week they will not win a battle for more money to fund the liaison officers entirely. "They know there's a levy and they know it's increas- ing,'' said Beahen, who in a study he condfic~ed of 26 other police departments found only one department that didn't get at least half of the funding for its liaison offi- cers. That department was Fridley. He said the only other notable exceptions are in Hennepin and Sherburne counties. Sheriff Anderson is hopeful some steps he has taken or is willing to take may provide the city of Elk River the abil- ity to hang onto the liaison program. He recently added a drug enforcemen~ officer who's focusing on the Elk River area and he's willing to con- sider adding officer time to focus on truck enforcement and take over some or all event coverage. The drug offi- cer and truck enforcement are two initiatives the police department had hoped to tackle but are be less press- ing with Anderson's help. Jensen has recommended the board wait a year before making any changes to the liaison program, and a deci- sion for' the following year be made soon to provide time to prepare for any changes. The Elk River City Council will discuss the matter at its 6:05 p.m. this Monday (Aug. 12) at Elk River City Hall.