FORT DODGE, Iowa — People in Fort Dodge will head to the polls Tuesday, Sept. 10 for a special election to vote on a 5% franchise fee that would impact both the city's police department, and gas and electric bills for homeowners and businesses.
According to the city, both the electric and gas bills would rise by an average of a little over $3 a month for each utility. And as part of the city's "Case for 8" initiative, the franchise fee would allocate all that generated money toward adding eight new police officers.
"You may go into ... you're 60 years old and never have had to call the police," Fort Dodge Police Chief Dennis Quinn explained. "Then all of a sudden, when you ... want them right now, us having the extra officers gives us a better opportunity to make sure that when you do need us, that we're here."
Currently, the Fort Dodge Police Department has 40 police officers, and as a department it responds to 31,000 calls per year.
FDPD said it would hire one new officer for each of the four patrol shifts and one new detective in the Investigative Division. The other three officer hires would be part of the "Community Action" team, a new initiative dedicated to solving key issues within the community.
Back in February, a petition was signed by the residents of Fort Dodge to hold a special election for the people to decide the fate of the franchise fee — instead of the city council — and to ensure 100% of the money would go toward the Case for 8.
"This is something that is not only going to be meaningful for themselves, but their kids and their grandkids," Fort Dodge Assistant City Manager Ryan Maehl said. "Franchise fee lasts a long time, and this is an important process to make Fort Dodge better."
RELATED: ‘I just can’t let it go’: Owner of stolen car speechless after her car was used in deadly crash
Having more officers, Quinn said would allow the department to respond to calls more frequently, and in turn, create a safer community.
"I want allow our officers to instead of just responding to calls as they just come in, I want them to be more proactive. I want to put more pressure on the people out here committing some of these criminal acts. And make them not want to do that here. Go somewhere else, not in Fort Dodge," he added.
According to Quinn, FDPD has seen less violent crime in 2024 compared to the year before.