A special meeting was held with the Jefferson Law Enforcement Committee to discuss details of a 28E agreement for law enforcement coverage with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

Police Chief Mark Clouse says the committee reviewed a proposed 28E agreement from Greene County Attorney Thomas Laehn. After reviewing the initial agreement, the committee determined that the sheriff’s office would provide 13 shifts per month to be covered in the event that the police department had open 12-hour shifts. The City would then pay a Greene County Deputy $1,000 per shift, with an additional hourly rate of $60 if a deputy had to do any work while they were off-duty. Clouse notes those responsibilities would include any follow-up paperwork after an arrest that a deputy made while covering an open police shift.

The committee decided that a deputy would provide coverage of routine patrol services, including door checks of commercial properties; enforcing state laws, suspected criminal activity that would warrant additional investigation as deemed necessary by the Greene County Sheriff, and specialized traffic and vehicle operation enforcement. A deputy would not be responsible for covering any municipal infractions or animal-related calls for service.

Additionally, the agreement includes an administrative fee of $1,750 per calendar month, which can be terminated at any time and start again as necessary. Clouse says this would be as needed since he is currently handling two administrative offices due to not having a captain. 

The agreement is only for one year with the intent to have it be in effect by October 1st and ending September 30th. The document also includes certain benchmarks for the police department. It stipulates the department must complete job interviews for at least two officer positions by October 30th, extend conditional job offers to at least two individuals by November 13th, followed by formal job offers by December 8th.

Currently, the police department has five active officers of its eight-officer staff, with one at the law enforcement academy. Clouse anticipates losing another officer within two weeks, which would put this agreement into effect. However, the agreement only addresses one officer position. Laehn said at the County Board of Supervisors meeting this past Monday that the County didn’t feel comfortable providing coverage to the City for longer than one year, to prevent burn out of the current deputies and another intent was to allow time for the police department to rebuild.

Both the County Board of Supervisors and the Jefferson City Council are anticipated to consider approving the agreement at their respective meetings next week.