ELLENDALE (AP) - The City Council is seeking to recall Dickey County Sheriff Jim Bohannon after his opposition to renewing a police contract and his statement that he hated Ellendale.

The City Council voted Monday to authorize the circulation of recall petitions.

Ellendale does not maintain a police department but pays the county $70,000 per year for law enforcement services.

"They don't like it that I don't want the contract renewed, so they want me recalled," Bohannon said. "One thing is, the deputies are always in Ellendale. We have no deputies out on the roads in the rest of the county."

Officials in Ellendale say the problem goes beyond the policing contract.

"My understanding is that the prime issue is, he expressed that he hated Ellendale and all the people in it," said Kim Radermacher, the attorney for the city.

Bohannon does not deny that.

"The misconduct they say I did is I said I hated Ellendale - which I did in a County Commission meeting," he said. "I did say it, I'm sorry, I was trying to get rid of a contract that wasn't working and I blurted it out."

Ellendale Mayor Monica Peldo said the situation has deteriorated.

"We got a statement from one individual in Ellendale that it took a second call to get him to respond to a problem," Peldo said. "That is when it started to look like a big problem.

Bohannon has been the Dickey County sheriff for 14 years. He was re-elected to the post in 2006, when he ran unopposed for a four-year term.

"I've been in office six years, and things went well for the first four or so years," the mayor said. "Everything has gone downhill since last summer."

The Dickey County sheriff's office is staffed by the sheriff and four deputies. Bohannon and two of the deputies live in Oakes, on the eastern edge of the county. Another deputy lives east of Ellendale and one deputy lives in Ellendale.

The Census Bureau estimates Ellendale's population at about 1,490. The bureau's 2006 figures estimate Oakes' population at 1,819, and the total population of Dickey County at 5,398.

It is a case of Ellendale against the eastern part of the county, Bohannon said.

"If we can get the service we need, we don't care if they all live over there," Peldo countered.

"They are being heavy-handed," Bohannon said. "They can afford their own department."

Peldo said a policing agreement between the city and county is good for both.

"It is a win-win, but not with this sheriff in charge," she said.

Recall backers will have to get 700 valid signatures to force a recall election. If the county auditor certifies the signatures as valid, a special election would be held within 60 days, with the county paying the cost

"We have several petitions turned in already. We are moving forward," Peldo said. "When the election comes, anyone can run against him. There might even be several."