A “win-win” situation is how Guthrie County Sheriff Marty Arganbright described the 28E agreement between the County and the City of Guthrie Center for law enforcement.

Guthrie Center is nearing the end of the four-year 28E agreement that provided them with two deputies for nearly 24/7 law enforcement coverage. Arganbright brought a new contract proposal to the City Council at their recent meeting to extend the agreement for another four years. Not much has changed in the proposal, according to Arganbright. The only notable changes is a cost to the City in fiscal year 2019-2020 for the sheriff’s office purchase of a new vehicle, and an increase in deputies Steven Henry and James Mink’s salaries to 80% of the sheriff’s salary. The vehicle and the salary increase would mean an approximate 13% increase of expenses to the City for the first fiscal year and then about a 2% increase for each subsequent year.

Arganbright explains how this agreement has benefitted the County and the City, “It works both ways, the City is paying for two deputies that we also can use for the County. I mean it’s a big thing I know for the County because we all work here and take turns, but we wouldn’t have been able to get two more deputies without Guthrie Center. So, I mean it helps Guthrie Center and it helps the County, no doubt in my mind.”

The Council approved moving forward with the proposal on a vote of three in favor with Chuck Cleveland and Mike Herbert abstaining as they are employed by the sheriff’s office. The agreement will now be sent to the County Board of Supervisors for their approval, which the City would like to happen soon as the contract expires July 1, 2019. The Supervisors passed the original agreement with a vote of 3-2 in 2015.