Sartell City Council Approves Adding 3 Police Officers

SARTELL (WJON News) -- The City of Sartell will be increasing its police force by three positions. At Monday's city council meeting the council approved the staff increase to 27 officers. Chief Silgjord made the request for the three additional positions stating there are times on late night shifts when they only have 1 officer on duty and there should be two officers on duty at all times.

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He also pointed out the city's growth rate, a call increase of 15% over the last 3 years, and a current strong applicant pool. The next step is to decide where the funds for the positions will come from. The city is still working on the 2025 budget and the council requested to have options presented to them so they can maintain their goal of a 0% tax increase.

Two of the officers will be covered until April of 2025 from a grant the police department received back in June  The council felt it was important to approve the increase in staff now to show support for the police department. Chief Silgjord also informed the council of the plan to switch to a 12-hour work day for officers in January and that he is working on a long-term 10-year plan for the department.

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