Winnebago police chief Eric Olson, center, is pictured at an event in Winnebago. Chief Olson is now the only police officer in the city of Winnebago.

The Winnebago City Council scheduled a special worksession on Tuesday, April 18, to discuss the future of the Winnebago Police Department.

Concerns about staff shortages in the police department have mounted following several officers’ resignations. Currently, the department – designed to operate with three full-time officers – is down to just one full-time officer: Chief Eric Olson.

Shortages began in June, when officer Vincent Do resigned from the Winnebago Police Department to become a deputy at the Faribault County Sheriff’s Office. The situation worsened when officer Jacob Pettit left the department last January.

Since then, Chief Olson has been holding down the department on his own with assistance from the Faribault County Sheriff’s Office. After Pettit resigned, the Sheriff’s Office agreed to help Winnebago cover vacant shifts, and is on-call when Olson is off-duty.

As of now, Olson typically begins his shifts between noon and 2:30 p.m., and remains on duty until the early hours of the morning, somewhere between midnight and 3 a.m.

Chief Deputy Scott Adams, who was present at the meeting, assured the council, “We want to see you covered. We will fill in the gaps as we can, free of charge. We’ll support you until you get through it.” 

However, the arrangement is a short-term solution, and the council is seeking long-term strategies for keeping a full-time police presence in Winnebago.

“We have been trying to get at least one police officer here, and we need two more,” city administrator Judi Hynes summarized. “We haven’t had any luck, and we need to look at other options.” 

The council weighed two solutions: raising wages to attract more applicants, or dissolving the Winnebago Police Department and contracting with another department for coverage.

Hynes shared that Winnebago has met with representatives from Blue Earth – including Blue Earth’s city administrator, its mayor and its police chief – to discuss the possibility of contracting with Blue Earth for police services.

Hynes said Winnebago currently budgets $366,886 for its police department, while Blue Earth would charge the city a comparable $355,561 to contract with its department in 2024. Winnebago would pay Blue Earth a monthly lump sum for services, and Blue Earth would oversee payments to officers.

Under this arrangement, Blue Earth would provide Winnebago with full coverage from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Chief Olson observed, “I’m not against the Blue Earth thing,” adding that he considers the Blue Earth Police Department a model department. However, he admitted, “I still have concerns. Major concerns.”

Olson explained that once a city eliminates its police department, it is very difficult to revive it in the future.

“Once you lose that control, you’re not going to get it back,” he said. “You’re going to have to do what the other (city) says.” 

He reminded the council, “Years ago, Blue Earth was having problems with retention, and they were going to contract with Winnebago. They decided, ‘No, we’re going to keep our department.’ Blue Earth made the right decision, and now I want Winnebago to make the right decision.” 

Olson favors raising wages for Winnebago officers, which are currently not competitive with other police departments in the area.

For example, Winnebago offers officers a starting hourly wage of $25.24 at the bottom of the pay scale, while a starting wage in Blue Earth will rise to $30.59 in 2024.

Olson recalled that wage increases have been discussed in the past, but no action was ever taken on the matter. He feels this is why several officers have left the department recently.

“I do have a feeling that they wouldn’t have left the city if the wages had been raised a while ago,” Olson said. “I think raising wages will help with recruitment.”

Adams agreed, commenting, “Pay is going to attract people. Once they’re here, they also have to be treated decent, with no micromanaging.” 

Additionally, Olson admitted it would be a personal blow were Winnebago to lose its police department, as he would no longer be a police chief. For example, Olson would most likely be made a captain or sergeant were Winnebago to contract with Blue Earth.

“I’ve spent nine years with Winnebago,” he said. “I’m trying to give this community the best I can give them as one person. I don’t want to take a big step back, and all of a sudden be left in the dust.” 

Olson requested the city allow him six months to recruit new officers with higher wages. He said it typically takes that long to complete the hiring process from start to finish.

“Policing isn’t like other professions where you say, ‘We’re going to hire you, start tomorrow,'” Olson explained. “There are a lot of criteria you have to meet to get that person on board with your department.” 

He added that now is a good time to set higher wages, as newly-trained officers will be graduating from school. He even has a ride-along scheduled with a candidate who he hopes will consider coming to Winnebago.

Hynes estimates that, were Winnebago to raise its wages to a competitive level, it would cost the city an additional $52,305 per year. This, however, is assuming Winnebago hires officers at the middle of the pay scale.

Addressing the public, council member Jean Anderson said, “Why we’re considering this is to make sure the citizens of Winnebago are taken care of. We’re looking for input from you.” She then inquired whether the citizens who were present felt Winnebago’s police department is worth an extra $50,000 per year.

The consensus from the public was, ‘Yes,’ with one person adding, “I’d be willing to pay more money just to keep our police department here.” 

Council member Chris Anderson also took a firm stance on the issue, stating, “We need to keep our own department and increase wages. I don’t even want to entertain going with Blue Earth.” 

Olson and Hynes agreed to work together over the next few weeks on a proposal for wage increases for the Winnebago Police Department.

The council then scheduled a public hearing on May 9, at 6:30 p.m., prior to the next regular City Council meeting. During that time the council will welcome public comment about the proposed wage increases.