GRETNA, Neb. (KMTV) — The City of Gretna renewed its contract with the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office for policing services at Tuesday night's city council meeting, extending the agreement through September 30, 2029.
Gretna disbanded its police department in 1976 and has relied on the Sarpy County Sheriff's Office ever since. The interlocal cooperation agreement, now renewed for another three years, takes effect October 1st.
Sarpy County Sheriff Greg London said the arrangement has worked well for 50 years and saves Gretna money compared to running its own department.
"If they wanted to start their own police department it would be very costly to do it, just the startup cost alone would be millions of dollars and they surely wouldn't be able to provide some of the types of secondary services that we have," London said.
London said he would prefer an even longer commitment.
"Our goal is to always provide service for Gretna. This is a 3 year contract, if I had my way it would be a 10 year contract or a 20 year contract. So I think that we are in a good place, Gretna is in a good place we have a great community," London said.
As Gretna continues to grow rapidly, questions remain about whether the city will eventually establish its own police department. In 2024, KMTV reported that the city said it hoped to have its own police department within 5 to 7 years. I reached out to the city for an updated response but have not heard back yet.
For now, London said partnerships like this are mutually beneficial and not uncommon across the country.
"I think that has really changed in the last 40 years. I think law enforcement today works more closely than they ever have because it wasn't like that when I started," London said.
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