12-01-2021 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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11/24/2021 Board Chair Toni Carter Board of Commissioners Office 15 W. Kellogg Blvd St. Paul, MN 55102 RE: Contract Cities and Minnesota State Fair Law Enforcement Services Chair Carter, Recently, the Contract Cities were made aware of a decision by the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners advising the Minnesota State Fair to pursue other law enforcement services for 2022 and beyond. This news is very disappointing to the Cities that contract with the Ramsey County Sheriff for our law enforcement. It is believed the addition of the State Fair to the patrol services operation can only benefit City/County residents in the Contract Cities. As you are aware, many of the northern Ramsey County communities have contracted with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office for decades. It has been a relationship built on collaboration and innovation. To some in the field, it has been a case study of success on how partnerships and compromise can benefit the residents of a region with a sustainable, professional service and financial savings. With the addition of the City of Falcon Heights to our contract in 2018, the City Manager’s negotiated a reasonable approach to integrating the non-contiguous City into the operation. Despite our best efforts, it became challenging for deputies to provide effective coverage where the responding vehicle had to travel thru a community not within the contract (ie. Roseville). It is believed the addition of the State Fair to the patrol services operation would solve this challenge. Ramsey County is fortunate to be home to the State Fair. With the State Fairgrounds located in the City of Falcon Heights, the additional patrol needed to cover the State Fair property on a daily basis would afford the patrol services operation adequate coverage to effectively back up each other for most situations. For more significant calls, this would allow deputies in other parts of the Contract Cities to respond in a safer manner as they passed through a non-contract community. The addition of the Fairgrounds to the operation promotes the safety of the women and men that patrol our communities. For each city in the contract and most cities everywhere, public safety is a top priority for many of our residents, while concurrently being the most expensive part of our budget and operations. Depending on the Contract City, RCSO expenses range from 25% up to 45% of the total general fund. Every decision surrounding the RCSO contract is significant, especially for those on the higher end of the range. See the below for the approved 2022 budget per city.