A potential merger between the police departments in Ely and Babbitt appears to be dead in the water.
After discussions earlier in the year, the city of Ely’s budget committee recommended that the city not enter into an agreement with Babbitt for police services.
“It was a good idea for Babbitt, but not a very good idea for Ely,” said council member John Lahtonen, who is also a member of the budget committee.
The discussion sprung from a request two months ago from Babbitt Mayor Andrea Zupancich.
Zupancich floated the idea of a merged police force amid concerns in her city, where a department that once had five members went down to two.
St. Louis County had provided a proposal to offer coverage in Babbitt, as did the East Range Police Department based in Aurora and Hoyt Lakes, but Zupancich also asked Ely to weigh in.
Details including coverage, oversight, management and other issues were unclear, and figured to take months to negotiate.
But Ely officials stopped any further negotiations dead in the water by saying “thanks,but no thanks,” to the city about 15 miles down the road.
“We couldn’t do it for what they were doing it for,” said Lahtonen. “Number two it would be all Ely officers. We’d be responsible. We can’t keep people here in town over six months now. It’s money and overtime and the retention of officers. We can’t do that here.”
According to Zupancich’s presentation to Ely leaders, the county would provide four officers who would be stationed in Babbitt, along with some overtime provisions, and Zupancich said the proposal would be “about $100,000 cheaper than what we currently have with five officers.”
Zupancich said that Babbitt is one of many small communities challenged by the current law enforcement landscape.
