Elk Mound Village Board Votes to Disband Police Department

The Elk Mound Village Board officially voted to approve a measure to disband its police department at its meeting on Monday.

The measure was introduced last month as the Village's Public Safety Committee evaluated its budget for 2027. At its meeting in late September, the committee voted unanimously to approve sending a pair of resolutions to the full Village Board to disband the Elk Mound Police Department and to contract with the Dunn County Sheriff's Office instead.

Local residents largely pushed back against the proposed change, with over 200 of them signing a petition opposing it. Despite that pushback, the Village Board voted 6 to 1 to approve it on Monday.

Village officials cited the cost of operating its own police department as the motivation behind considering the change, as well as gaining access to more state grant funding. They say the proposed contract that will be considered by the Dunn County Board is expected to save the village over $7,000 per year, and could allow the village to qualify for up to nearly $40,000 in additional state grant funding each year.

Currently, the Elk Mound Police Department includes Police Chief Chad Weinberger, one part-time officer, one administrative assistant, and four volunteers. Village officials also noted that there have been times where they've see staffing gaps with their local police department. They believe contracting with the Dunn County Sheriff's Office will ensure a more consistent law enforcement presence, calling for one Sheriff's Deputy to be stationed in the village full-time.

Under the proposed contract, the Elk Mound Police Department would continue to serve the community through the end of the year to provide a suitable transition period before the shift to the Dunn County Sheriff's Office.