Motley Group Shares Safety Concerns With Council | News

Motley Police Officer Cody Holtz, left, receives his badge from Chief Jason Borash after being sworn in Monday, Aug. 9, 2021, at the Motley City Council meeting.

A group of Motley residents came before the city council, Monday, to express some concerns they had regarding safety in the community.

Mary Koenig, speaking on behalf of the group, said as they have become more involved in the community — particularly in helping with JuneFest and Fall Fest — several people had mentioned issues they were having to them.

“Some of them we could fix and some of them we couldn’t,” Koenig said. “One of them that we thought we couldn’t fix, we thought we would bring to the Council because we felt like it’s a huge concern. That’s the safety of the residents.”

She said one question they often hear is why does Motley not get extra law enforcement coverage. The two-person Police Department consists of Chief Jason Borash and Officer Cody Holtz.

Koenig said they compared the Motley Police Department with those in communities such as Staples, Little Falls and Pillager; taking particular note of how many officers each has on staff and how much they are paid.

“We were shocked to find out that the city is the lowest paid,” Koenig said. “It doesn’t surprise us why you can’t get people to come and work here. We just want to know why.”

Mayor Mike Schmidt told her that the Council, at its September meeting, voted to hire a firm that will complete a wage study analysis for all city departments; including the police. He said that would also include a comparison of Motley to like-sized cities.

He added that, with festivals and events like Koenig mentioned, a population increase can be expected. For greater Minnesota, that usually means more people in town during the summer months than in the winter.

Rudy Bjerga said he wasn’t sure comparing Motley to like-sized cities was the best way to go about doing the study. He noted that there are three major highways that go through town. Because of that, it is a busier community than Staples, for example.

“When these people come up here, they shoot up 64, they shoot up 10; a certain percentage go to Staples,” Bjerga said. “That’s where my concern has been with this City Council in this city for years. They don’t want to pay law enforcement no money.”

Koenig said, because of the highways, it’s widely known that there are a lot of drugs coming through town. That is a situation with which many residents take issue. She said it just feels as though the problem never gets resolved.

Bjerga said he felt the officers who do cover Motley do “a fabulous job,” but there aren’t enough of them and they are not paid enough. He said he pays his employees on the farm more than Motley pays its chief of police.

“There’s no comparison — for the guy to sit here and risk his life,” he said. “Just because we’re a small town doesn’t mean (stuff) doesn’t happen here. It does. I just think they need to be rewarded for what they’re doing.”

Koenig asked Schmidt if the study will compare call volume versus population for law enforcement officers. The Motley Police Department usually gets around 1,300 calls per year, give or take, which she said comes to more than 600 per officer.

“How do you justify that?” she asked.

Schmidt reiterated a statement from September’s meeting in that, the employees who work for the city of Motley want to be there; they are choosing to stay. In a world with a transient workforce, he said they could go work anywhere, but are dedicated to Motley.

Part of the reason for the wage study, he said, was that he did not want to see departments within the city put in a position where they have to lobby for themselves, or are not put against their coworkers. He felt, seeing as there are some new members on the Council, now made sense to get the facts on employee wages.

Schmidt said the Council also “went after a pretty aggressive percentage increase” on its preliminary levy. He said it has been a long time since city employees received a cost of living adjustment (COLA) that actually kept up with the cost of living.

“I believe we’re headed in the right direction to award and reward our staff for, not only their dedication and loyalty,” Schmidt said. “I don’t disagree with you.”

He noted that, in some parts of the workforce, part-time employment just isn’t feasible. Schmidt felt law enforcement was one of those areas, because the city will just end up “selling our part-time officer somewhere else for his time so he can be full-time.”

These types of decisions, he said, can’t be made on the fly. The study will free up employees so they don’t have to ask themselves “the tough questions,” but rather will provide answers to a licensed and bonded firm that will relay the facts to the City Council.

“We’re going to get that data and move forward with it,” Schmidt said. “I’m pretty transparent. I think we have a great little town that keeps turning the right corner.”

He said he feels Motley continues to improve, and festivals such as JuneFest and Fall Fest are part of that growth. However, he said he has experience dealing with large crowd gatherings. There do need to be additional safety measures in place “when they’re going to be silly,” he said.

In that event, he said volunteers are great, but become a liability if bad things start happening; despite having the best of intentions.

“That’s where we’re at as a city with the wage study to get that data, that information, to not only benefit our current employees but — how do we grow and offer more to other people that are interested in working with and for our city?” Schmidt said.

City Clerk/Treasurer Darci Odden said she expects to have all of the information from the wage study back and ready to present to the Council at its budget work session, scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7, at Motley City Hall.

Schmidt added that he felt the study was “long overdue.” The city did spend money to have it done, but that was mainly to ensure it is done in a credible fashion.

He said it is an attempt by the Council to be proactive in addressing some of the safety issues brought forward by the group. With growth comes a cost, he said, and it is important for those in leadership positions to help ensure both residents and those just passing through town feel safe and supported.

“I don’t disagree,” Schmidt said. “I’m very transparent with this — I think we can do better paying our employees, especially the ones that serve after hours and deal with a population of people that struggle.”

In other business Monday, the Motley City Council:

• Asked City Clerk/Treasurer Darci Odden to draft a resolution for the November meeting for the Council to accept a donation from the Staples Fire Department of used self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for the fire department;

• Approved a request from Fire Chief Brad Olson to apply for a federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) to buy new SCBA equipment and turnout gear.

“The lady I’ve been talking to has a really good track record of getting these grants,” Olson said;

• Approved a request from Police Chief Jason Borash to attend a field training officer certification class in the Twin Cities, Nov. 14 - 18. The cost will be $575 for the course, plus lodging, meals and travel expenses;

• Heard from Public Works Director Bruce Brotherton that a resurfacing project on Cemetery Road is finished; and

• Approved ordinance amendments regarding food trucks, planning commission compensation and the land use ordinance — the last of which is just to make it consistent with city code.

The next regular meeting of the Motley City Council is at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at Motley City Hall.

“I’m very transparent with this — I think we can do better paying our employees, especially the ones that serve after hours and deal with a population of people that struggle.” - Mike Schmidt, Motley mayor

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