Local Government

This area of the website is intended to provide information on local government.  Please see the links on the bottom left of this page to be directed to specific information.  If you are unable to find what you are looking for, please contact City Clerk Michele Lindau.

Message from the Mayor
Since I became Mayor in 2012, over 4,000 new residents have made the decision to call Hugo home. The growth and progress exhibited in our community has been astonishing, and year after year I continue to meet marvelous new people. Hugo has been able to grow successfully due the work our public safety departments do to keep us safe and healthy every single day. The Hugo Fire Department has been serving the community since 1908, and Washington County Sheriff’s Office has been providing law enforcement service to the community since 1980. This past year, the City Council made changes to Hugo’s public safety departments to position them to better serve our community.

First of all I’d like to highlight our Fire Department, an important pillar to the community’s safety for well over a century. Most residents don’t realize the HFD has been an entirely volunteer department for nearly all of that time, with a team of dedicated men and women who serve on-call. Our volunteer firefighters routinely sacrifice time with family, friends, work, and not to mention sleep, to respond to calls. However, as the City has grown the department has struggled to attract enough volunteers. The City Council held several workshops with the Fire Department to discuss its long term needs. In the fall of 2023, the City of Hugo hired its first ever full-time Fire Chief, Jim Compton, Jr! Chief Compton has served with the HFD since 2001, and became the part-time chief in 2021. In his new full-time role, Chief Compton is more effectively able to handle the day-to-day operations of the fire department. Additionally, Chief Compton is focused on leadership development within the department. The City Council’s decision to invest in the Fire Department’s leadership will create a stronger and safer community.

The other important pillar of community safety is law enforcement, which is provided by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Our partnership with Washington County provides an excellent level of law enforcement service at a greatly reduced cost, as opposed to running a municipal police department. The resources available to us at the county level offer Hugo residents additional services and investigate cases that involve coordination with agencies all across the country. The dedicated deputies that serve Hugo have been valuable members of the community, taking the time to establish a connection with the residents they serve and protect. For the past few years, the Hugo deputies consisted of six patrol deputies, an investigator, and a sergeant who leads the team. In order to accommodate the growing needs of our population, the City Council decided to expand the partnership with Washington County and add a seventh deputy to our team. There have been some new faces within the past few years, so follow this link to meet them. Join me in extending my gratitude to the people that work hard to make Hugo a great place to live!