The Sheldon Board of Aldermen voted 3 to 1 Thursday to accept the first six-month contract for law enforcement services in the city with the Vernon County Sheriff's office.
Alderman Robert Moran voted no on the contract saying the contract needed some "minor tweaks."
The discussion about the contract took up a major portion of the board of aldermen meeting, and all aldermen and Mayor Jerod Lamb weighed in on the issue. All favored the idea, but Moran posed several questions during the meeting.
Deputy Jacob Crahan, patrol supervisor for the sheriff's office, was at the meeting to answer questions.
Moran said he supports the sheriff and thinks he is doing a great job. He described law enforcement in the community as "meritorious" but asked questions about funding and policy. He addressed his concerns to the board in a memorandum.
One of Moran's major questions was how the deputy's time would be logged and if the city has access to that information. The time a deputy spends in Sheldon will be logged by the Western Missouri 911 Dispatch Center and Mayor Lamb said he had assurances from Sheriff Jason Mosher that the city could receive regular reports regarding time.
Other questions surrounded deputies responding to calls outside the city and whether the city would be billed for those calls. Crahan responded that when the deputy leaves Sheldon to answer a call unrelated to the city, possibly because he or she is the closest unit, the time the city is billed by the sheriff's office stops. When the deputy returns, time resumes.
Moran questioned transportation of jail inmates. If they are arrested in Sheldon for a city violation and taken to the jail, that is on the city's time, Crahan said. If a deputy is in Sheldon on an investigation and makes an arrest, then the transportation is not billed to the city.
The deputy would have had to transport the suspect regardless of where in the county he or she was found. The city would not be responsible for time spent responding to a fire, Crahan said.
Moran wanted to know what portion of a deputy's time would be spent enforcing city ordinances, working on public safety and conducting other law enforcement activities like investigations. There was no clear cut answer to that question.
All aldermen spoke up about the need for the service.
"With the problems we face, we need law enforcement, " Alderwoman Cheryl Bogarth said. She recommended a trial period acknowledging the "need is here."
Alderman John Scifer said the city needed the service to control the vandalism and other misdemeanor crimes in town.
Joshua Lamb agreed the need was there and thought a trial contract was a good idea. He agreed that some changes may need to be made in the contract and was pleased to hear such changes could be made with a 60-day notification.
Mayor Lamb has worked on this issue for some time and is glad that it has finally happened.
"It is in the best interest of the people," he said. The board also approved the use of an office in city hall as a satellite office for the deputy on duty to work out of while in town.
Other issues discussed during the meeting were a prescription drug take back. The mayor said old drugs being flushed down the toliet were ending up in the city's lagoon.
Crahan agreed to see if there could be arrangements made with the sheriff's office to take care of that and some old evidence in the previously used police department office.
The normal agenda, minutes and various reports were approved and Phyllis Sprenkle brought the board up to speed on the community betterment project.
The board discussed the community service arrangements they have in place and also talked at length about a new or repaired dump truck.
The mayor said it is a critical issue because street projects cannot proceed without a dump truck. Aldermen agreed to have a professional mechanic look at the current truck and make a recommendation.
The board also went into closed session but it was unknown at press time if any votes were taken after that meeting.
