City seeks changes in law enforcement agreement
By Jerry W. Kram
Law enforcement in Parshall has been spotty for years, according to members of the Parshall City Council. At the council’s most recent meeting on March 11, they expressed the desire to renegotiate the terms of agreement for the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Department to provide local law enforcement in the city. Mayor Kyle Christianson said a recent meeting with county commissioners on the subject was encouraging.
Parshall is beginning the second year of a five year contract with Mountrail County that turns over law enforcement authority in the city to the Sheriff’s Department. The city pays about $100,000 a year for services. City Attorney Bill Wood said the level of service the city is receiving isn’t worth the money it is paying. He said that Plaza gets a similar level of coverage without paying anything.
Parshall has purchased a trailer house for officer housing for a sheriff’s deputy. A deputy is assigned to Parshall, but he is currently in the middle of a two month training at the North Dakota Police Academy, Christianson said.
