Last month, the central Minnesota city dropped their contract with the Benton County sheriff's office in order to save money. But Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson raised concern about possible legal ramifications of relying on private security.

The city recently ended its contract with the Benton County sheriff's department in favor of a less expensive deal with a private security company. Now Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson has offered to help mediate talks aimed at putting security back in the hands of sheriff's deputies.

The city voted to sign a contract with a private security company after failing to reach a new contract with Benton County. Foley has been contracting with the county to provide law enforcement since the city cut its own police staff in 2003. Foley is the first city in Minnesota to hire a private police force.

The executive director of the police standards board charged with blocking an effort to hire private security to replace county sheriffs deputies says the claims are "fiction." A Foley city official confirms that the agency contacted the proposed security outfit but did not take action.

The Peace Officers Standards Training Board rejected the city of Foley's plan to hire private security guards to replace county sheriffs deputies. Foley's attempts to switch to private security would make it the first city in the state to ditch public law enforcement services. The city says it's a cost-saving move.

The central Minnesota city previously contracted with the Benton County sheriff's office but switched in a cost-cutting move -- making it the first in the state to hire a private security company to patrol its streets.

Foley residents are being instructed to boil all water before using it after E. coli was detected in the city's water supply. The city says the contamination may be due to a failure to chlorinate properly, and officials await updated test results from the Department of Health.