(KNZA)--The Hiawatha Police Department will be hiring an additional full-time officer.

The City Commission Monday evening authorized Police Chief John Defore to advertise for the new officer.

Defore told the Commission last month he believes the hiring of an additional officer would be the best way to utilize the funds the city had been paying Brown County for providing dispatch services.  He said an additional officer will allow him to put two officers on the street covering the first and second shifts, from seven in the morning until midnight.  

The city last month accepted the county’s offer to no longer charge for providing dispatch services, with the stipulation those funds be used for law enforcement purposes.

The city has been paying the county about $49,500 annually for providing the service.