Multiple public safety matters are among council agenda items

Five public safety items of business are on the agenda for tonight’s Worthington City Council meeting.

First on the list is the introduction of --- and administering of the oath for – new Worthington Police Department Officer Tate Gaul. Gaul grew up in Worthington and has been a part of the city’s law enforcement family for years, as his dad, Tim, was a Worthington police officer for more than three decades.

Tate Gaul graduated from Worthington High School in 2021 and later attended Minnesota West. He then earned a football scholarship at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in justice administration in 2025. He started with the WPD in August and is currently working full-time shifts for the department.

Two of the other public safety items on the agenda pertain to guidelines for positions within the Worthington Police Department.

WPD Detective position guidelines have been reviewed and updated with assignment details, job requirements and other minor details added, removed or adjusted for clarification and consistency. The same is true for the department’s drug and general investigator position. Council members are being asked to approve these revisions.

Additionally, the council is slated to authorize and consider a memorandum of understanding between the city and Worthington Independent School District 518 pertaining to school resource officer participation.

An MOU and written agreement were authorized by the city and District 518 in October 2000, and the agreement along with amended versions has been in operation since that time. Updated versions of the MOU and agreement, prepared in accordance with new statutory requirements, will be examined and potentially approved tonight.