Council OKs 2021 budget, police upgrades

While the Cloquet city council passed the city’s 2021 budget and tax levy Tuesday, the Cloquet police department got a one-time boost from unspent funds in this year’s budget.

Police chief Derek Randall presented the council with a list of requests, mostly for equipment and technology upgrades, to be paid for out of the department’s 2020 budget surplus, which Randall estimated at a minimum of $139,200, including planned expenses through the end of the year.

Many of the items are urgently needed, including laptop computers for the squad cars, five replacement Tasers and 24 portable radio batter...