GOODHUE, Minn. — Editor's note: The video above first aired on KARE 11 on Aug. 14, 2023.
After all of its police officers resigned over alleged pay disputes, officials in the city of Goodhue cemented an agreement with the county sheriff's department to police the city through the end of the year.
On Wednesday, the Goodhue City Council voted unanimously to approve the tentative agreement already reached with the Goodhue County Sheriff's Office in a meeting last week. City officials say the plan will bring in deputies to police the city until the end of December. The sheriff's office said further talks are expected to take place between the city and law enforcement in regard to safety planning for 2024.
The agreement comes just in time, as the city was expected to be without a police force beginning Thursday.
Earlier this month, all seven officers, including the chief, of the Goodhue Police Department resigned, citing concerns over pay.
At the time, Goodhue Mayor Ellen Anderson Buck told KARE 11 she was "blindsided" by their resignations, and that the city was trying to "muddle through" the situation and "do the best" they could to provide policing in the community.
Anderson Buck said the city gave its officers a 5% pay increase and the chief a $13,000 raise at the beginning of the year. The Office of the State Auditor shows Goodhue had a public safety budget of about $375,000 in 2022.
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