Discussion at times devolved into debate during Tuesday’s forum on police services in La Conner.

“Our conversation began as a review of police services today,” Mayor Ramon Hayes said near the end of an hour-long public hearing at Maple Center, “and it has obviously taken a turn.”

But when all was said and done, the turn wasn’t completed.

A slim Town Council majority opted to stay the course and remain contracted through 2016 with the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement and related services.

Council members Bill Stokes, Jacques Brunisholz, and Mary Lee Chamberlai...