Garfield-Palouse looks to renegotiate police contract

Representatives from Garfield and Palouse will meet with Chief Jerry Neumann and the Palouse Police Department to negotiate a renewal of the contract for the Palouse department to cover Garfield.

The second of two four-year contracts will expire at the end of this year. Under the arrangement, the Town of Garfield pays the Palouse department a flat fee for law enforcement coverage.

Garfield Mayor Ray McCown will appoint two town council representatives to meet with two from Palouse.

“For us, it's been a good deal, and I'm sure for them, too. We pay pretty substantial,” said McCown. “Everything I see, we're quite happy with it.”

Neumann indicated that negotiations will likely begin in the next two weeks.

“It's up to Garfield, whatever they want to do,” he said. “Palouse is not proposing any big changes to the contract.”

“I anticipate it'll all go quite quickly,” said McCown.