PETOSKEY — The Petoskey City Council approved an Interlocal Agreement between the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the city’s Department of Public Safety that is intended to save time and resources when responding to emergencies.
Public Safety Director Adrian Karr provided information about the agreement to the council during their meeting on Monday, Nov. 17.
“I had worked with the tribal chief Terry McDonnell trying to find a way for us to break down some barriers of response times,” Karr said.
Karr added that the Petoskey department is struggling slightly with staffing. During the council’s 2026 budget discussion on Monday, city manager Shane Horn said an additional full-time officer position was not currently included in the document, but could be considered in the future.
“Director Karr mentioned that we’re spending a significant amount of overtime now making sure we have shift coverages,” Horn said. “He believes he could stand to use one (more position). We have a couple of retirements that are around the corner here. I did not place any money in the budget for this added position. This particular budget is fairly tight, and so I didn’t add that position in the budget.”
Karr said they were “kind of at the bend but don’t break with personnel.”
“And this (agreement) would help with response times because they’re (tribal police) traveling throughout the city from time to time,” he said. “Also, you know we pass their properties quite a bit as well. And if we have a medical emergency or any type of emergency at these properties, then we can respond without asking for jurisdiction, which is just another step that delays our response to assist one another.”
Karr added that there have been instances where they have responded to assist with a situation and have had to wait for permission.
“We’ve made agreements such as this where we’re cross-deputized with the county as well. Now, this would allow us to do that with the tribe as well,” he said. “It’s a good thing for both parties.”
According to agenda materials, the agreement will allow for assistance in situations where jurisdiction would need to be granted over the radio and that “When an emergency is dispatched, it is the spirit of this agreement that Petoskey officers are to hold the peace until tribal police department can respond and vice versa.”
The agreement was unanimously approved by council.
— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey council approves interlocal agreement with Little Traverse Bay Bands
Reporting by Jillian Fellows, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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