MOOSE LAKE, Minn. — Plagued with a ballooning budget and a shrinking police force, the Moose Lake City Council voted Wednesday to effectively terminate its police department.

Council members in the east-central Minnesota community of 2,800 voted 3-2 on whether to maintain the longtime police force or contract its law enforcement through the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office.

“Times change and this city cannot afford to have its own police department,” Council Member Greg Sarvela said before voting to contract with the sheriff’s office.

More contract negotiations will take place between the city and the sheriff’s office, but the tentative agreement will provide four sheriff’s deputies and a part-time administrator who would be based out of the Moose Lake Police Department building. The city will maintain its police department until contract negotiations are settled.

“It’s sad, you know. I’m going to miss working down here,” interim Police Chief Chad Pattison said.

At this time last year, the police department was fully funded and staffed with a police chief and four officers. However, in the past year, the police chief and an officer resigned. This was further exacerbated by two other officers resigning in the past month because of the instability facing the department, leaving Pattison as the city’s remaining officer.

Funding issues came to a critical mass last fall when the police department voted to change its union representation from the Teamsters to Law Enforcement Labor Services, according to City Administrator Ellissa Owens.

Under their previous union representation, the Teamsters provided the police department with its health insurance and duty disability, which provides psychological treatment for police officers. However, the new union did not provide health insurance or duty disability, making the city responsible for paying both, Owens said.

“That department has more health insurance obligations than any other city department, so when that transition occurred it impacted the budget exponentially,” Owens said.

Moose Lake eliminating its police department is part of a wider statewide trend. Since 2016, 35 police departments have been dissolved across the state, according to data from the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training.

“What Moose Lake is going through is not uncommon for several small agencies in the state of Minnesota,” said Jim Mortenson, executive director for Law Enforcement Labor Services, Minnesota’s largest public safety labor union.

The contract with the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office would cost the city $544,720, thus providing more law enforcement for less money. The city’s current public safety funding of $688,000 will be reallocated toward paying for the new contract.

“I think it just makes sense, more coverage for less dollars,” Moose Lake resident Dan Doty said after the meeting.

However, the four contracted deputies would not be able to provide 24/7 coverage for the city. The sheriff’s office determined that would require four full-time deputies and a sergeant. However, the council decided they could not afford the $778,000 contract.

“I just want to assure the council and the citizens of Moose Lake that as your sheriff, I promise we will do everything we can to provide the best service we can,” Sheriff Kelly Lake told the council after the vote.

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