by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
Police Chief Perry Beise laid out the department’s hiring plan for the foreseeable future at the May 26 council meeting.
Beise said the department currently: is short one officer; another officer is being assigned to the Central Minnesota Violent Offender Task Force; and, another officer will retire in the fall.
The department has been holding interviews for new officers since April, but Beise implied it takes a long time to hire the right people.
“It’s a rather arduous process to hire officers,” he said.
A second round of interviews is expected to take place June 2, with the council possibly approving a conditional hire of one officer at their June 8 meeting. If there isn’t a consensus on who to hire before the June 8 meeting, the meeting likely won’t be held, and any and all city business will move to the June 22 meeting.
Police Chief Perry Beise leads the Sauk Rapids police department. Beise and the department are looking for three good officers over the course of 2015, with one officer position currently vacant, another officer being assigned to an area task force, and a third retiring in the fall. Interviews began in April.