The Minot City Council approved up to another $50,000 Monday to fully pay off the cost of a police department investigation.

The city originally put up $50,000 to hire Chicago attorney Yvette Heintzelman to perform the investigation, and as the investigation expanded in scope, the council approved another $50,000. The $50,000 approved Monday is to cover yet additional costs.

“Spending another $50,000 on top of what we already had to spend to do this – I don’t even know what to say to that, quite honestly,” said council member Rob Fuller, who called the first investigation report late and not that great.

Finance Director David Lakefield said the actual expense could be less than the $50,000 being requested.

“We wanted to make sure that we had enough money that was appropriated to cover the remainder of the bills without having to come back with another budget amendment,” he said. “This $50,000, I think, would be more than enough to cover it.”

The investigation centered on concerns about employee morale and the department management of then Police Chief John Klug, who was placed on leave last September. At the end of January, the council and Klug entered a settlement agreement that allowed him to retire in March with pension benefits.

City Manager Harold Stewart said the bulk of the money spent by the city was for the original investigation to cover hours invested by the investigator above the estimate. The city spent around $17,000 for additional investigation into former Lt. Matt McLeod. A second complaint related to the original investigation cost about another $17,000, Stewart said.

Separately, Fire Chief Kelli Kronschnabel reported on restructuring at Central Dispatch following the investigation of the police department, which extended to Minot’s Public Safety Answer Point (PSAP).

At the beginning of this year, the PSAP was moved under the fire department, with an advisory team formed to address morale and other concerns raised during the investigation.

Working groups were formed to evaluate shifts, policies and procedures. Kronschnabel said a few policy and procedure suggestions have been put into play, and additional suggestions are being formally drafted for consideration.

Staff members also visited centers in Williston, Grand Forks, Fargo and Bismarck as well as State Radio.

“They’ve come back with some great information,” Kronschnabel said. “We’ve compiled that information to be able to see what everybody likes and how we can implement some of the findings.”

Dispatch now holds two monthly shift meetings that include a training component, she said. Leadership reorganization, with additional training, has occurred. Kronschnabel said centerwide training is being planned that will include personality assessments to uncover areas of potential conflict and allow for rebuilding as a team. PSAP also is taking a serious look at supports for mental health, she said.