Webster County Supervisors approved a law enforcement contract Tuesday between the Webster County Sheriff’s Office and the city of Duncombe, a followup to last week’s finalized agreement with the city of Otho.

The agreement will bring $8,200 per year to Webster County, and a combined $19,000 when added to Otho’s payments. Those figures are based on a per capita rate of $20 per resident.

The agreement stipulates that the county patrol system will make periodic checks of the town without specifically designated times. Checks will include traffic law enforcement, building checks and other enforcement for Duncombe residents.

All calls for law enforcement will be directed to the Sheriff’s Office, except for animal control, junk vehicles and nuisance ordinances, which will remain enforced by either the mayor or the town’s designee.

The Sheriff’s Office now provides contracted law enforcement to nine incorporated areas, said Sheriff Jim Stubbs.

The one-person police department for Otho and Duncombe effectively dissolved after former Police Chief Jenny Randleman left the department in early January to become a Webster County deputy. The police department was unable to find the appropriate applicants to replace Randleman.

“They tried to hire,” Stubbs said. “It didn’t progress real well. They didn’t have quite the applicants they wanted.”

Randleman had served as the police chief for about two and a half years.

Difficulty in attracting qualified talent is a statewide problem for law enforcement agencies, Stubbs told The Messenger.

He said the publicity law enforcement has received in recent years has taken a toll on the number of people wanting to enter the field, and that some towns can no longer afford to compete with what bigger departments can offer in terms of salary and benefits.

“There’s not as many people interested as 20 years ago,” he said.