Discussion continues over police contract
BY ALYSSA MEIER
Editor
County and Garrison city representatives made little headway during a Tuesday morning county commission meeting, but continued to mull options as Garrison works to develop its own police department.
With its contract with the McLean County Sheriff’s Department ending at the end of this year, Garrison and McLean County officials are working to answer a few key questions about how the entities would work together after Jan. 1.
“There are three main issues,” McLean County State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson said during the meeting. “Jail, dispatch and prosecution.”
Erickson explained that as Garrison establishes its own force, it will still likely rely on the McLean County court system and law enforcement center in some capacity.
Erickson said prisoners apprehended by the Garrison Police Department would need to be jailed at a local facility, and though the city has several options, Erickson expected McLean County to be the least expensive.
“We do get $75 a day with best for most people, but we do surrounding counties at $65 a day and I would be comfortable with that rate for Garrison,” Erickson said, adding that the county commission would need to approve this rate.
