By Lori EhdeThe Rock County Board of Commissioners formally rejected the latest proposal by the city of Luverne on a contract for law enforcement services.Luverne last week offered to pay $431,500 (a decrease of 28 percent) in contract fees to the county. Meanwhile, the county had budgeted the city to pay $669,000.Along with changing the fee structure, the city proposal changes the budgeting formula."As a partner in this, we feel it is fair to get more input on the budget," City Attorney Ben Vander Kooi said at the July 27 liaison meeting of city and county officials.At Tuesday’s County Board meeting, commissioners firmly rejected this notion."They’re asking us to restructure our budget and change the way we figure our costs," Commissioner Jane Wildung said. "I personally don’t think it’s right for them to ask another government entity to do that."County Attorney Don Klosterbuer said, "Agreeing to let the person buying the services dictate the manner in which you operate your budget would be a very bad precedent to set for the county."Commissioner Richard Bakken said private businesses offering services don’t operate that way, neither should government.Currently, the county’s budget for law enforcement encompasses all department costs. The city is requesting it be broken down into four different budgets that are funded differently.Patrol would be funded on a per hour basis; dispatch would be funded on the basis of population charge; support services wouldn’t get funded through a fee, and the city suggests a contingency fund. All of these take into consideration that city residents also pay county taxes that go toward funding law enforcement.Bakken expressed concern over piece-mealing law enforcement services. For example, if the city of Luverne decides it doesn’t need certain services and won’t pay for them, costs for those go up for all other residents in out-county cities and townships.Since the county is required by law to provide law enforcement, the city’s special counsel has mentioned the option of suing the county if it doesn’t fulfill those obligations."It is not in anybody’s best interest to litigate between both entities," County Administrator Kyle Oldre said, adding that county fully intends to provide base law enforcement services.Klosterbuer said, "It seems foolish to spend public dollars on both sides to see how to spend public dollars."At Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners formally rejected the latest city proposal on the law enforcement contract, in addition to the eight proposals previously sent by the city.They emphasized that if services are to remain the same, costs for those services also must remain the same. All city proposals to this point have requested the same services at lower costs.Commissioners directed liaison committee members Wildung, Commissioner Ron Boyenga, Oldre, Klosterbuer and Winkels to draft a proposal to present to the city.It will include a flat rate per capita (which would apply in all cities of the county), plus fees for services and an hourly rate for patrol.Commissioner Wildung at Tuesday’s meeting said she wants to see the proposal written in plain terms with few specifics."I have no faith in our City Council coming to the table to discuss this rationally," she said."They aren’t prepared to talk, they aren’t speaking for their board. … We have to leave it vague for the sheriff’s best interest."