By Sarah Roebuck
Police1
MOTLEY, Minn. — The Motley Police Department may join a growing list of Minnesota police departments where the entire department has quit at the same time.
During a city council meeting on Tuesday, Police Chief Jason Borash resigned, FOX9 reports.
The other officer with the department, Officer Cody Holtz, resigned a couple of months ago and joined the Morrison County Sheriff’s Office.
As of Sept. 22, their resignations will leave the city with zero officers on the force.
The chief had requested a raise from city council members, with several council members resisting that request.
The city has a max pay scale of $80,000. Some residents spoke up at the city council meeting and stated that this puts them as the last pick compared to other municipalities in the region.
The city council plans to hold a special meeting to consider raises for both the chief of police and officer positions.
The mayor said although he doesn’t foresee replacing the chief by Sept. 22, the city is actively searching for an interim chief.
In the past two years, four police departments in Minnesota have ceased operations. The police departments in Spring Grove, Morris and Ortonville shut down in 2022, and Wheaton’s police department followed suit earlier in 2023.
Earlier in August, the entire Goodhue Police Department resigned, but a tentative agreement for the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Office to take over policing duties has been reached.