A government program that arranges “extra duty” security jobs for Spokane police officers and Spokane County sheriff’s deputies isn’t paying its way, according to a county cost-recovery specialist.

Other public officials disagree, saying private employers shouldn’t be forced to pay fixed costs the government would have to pay anyway.

The program essentially sells government service, including the use of patrol cars and other equipment, to private organizations.

It’s an alternative to allowing officers to arrange their own off-duty work without supervision, or to prohibiting them from doing freelance work.

The problem, according to Guy Cavender, manager of the county’s “cost recovery project,” is that the sheriff’s extra-duty program – presumably the city’s, too, he said – isn’t covering expenses.

Read the rest of John Craig's story here.

---

---