Towns balk at cost of law enforcement

Small-town officials knew three years ago what paying for Spokane County law enforcement would cost them this year, but now that the bills are in hand, sticker shock has set in.

Some cities are considering creating their own police departments because they are frustrated with the services from the sheriff’s office.

The dilemma is that they’re getting a good deal. It’s cheaper to contract with the county than to fund a city police department.

“It’s a two-edged sword,” said Esther Larsen, the county’s contract coordinator. “People want the services, but they don’t want to pay for them.

“But what else can you get for $60 a year?” Larsen said, referring to the annual cost per person for law enforcement in the city of Latah, which has a population of 204 people and pays $12,640 a year.

The sheriff’s office reassessed its law enforcement contracts with the towns of Latah, Deer Park, Fairfield, Millwood, Rockford, Spangle and Waverly when Spokane Valley incorporated in 2002.

The change was made so that costs would align with law enforcement services rendered in each area. The price went up in all locations.

The county cut the small towns a break when the new contracts went into effect, Larsen said. Officials agreed to increase the bill gradually over three years, charging the cities 50 percent of the law enforcement contract the first year, 75 percent the second year and 100 percent this year.

Despite the warning, small-town officials are now saying it’s too expensive and they aren’t completely satisfied with the services. A lack of police presence is the primary complaint.

“It seems like we get less service and it costs more money each year,” said Millwood Mayor Jeanne Batson. “But there’s nothing we can do.”

Small town officials say costs for law enforcement eat up a majority of the cities’ budgets. The bills for law enforcement have been paid, but officials are worried about continuing to come up with the funds.

“Initiative 695 passed and that put a big crunch on our funds,” Fairfield Mayor Jep Edwards said. I-695, passed in 1999, changed the 2.2 percent value-based tax placed on vehicles at the time of licensing to a flat, $30 annual fee.

Cities used those taxes to fund law enforcement, among other things.

The law enforcement contract with the sheriff’s office provides base-level services for the small towns, which include patrol enforcement, a meth response unit, dispatch services and detectives for major crimes.

Larsen explained the county can’t give those services away.

Edwards said he understands. “The county has their budget and we have ours,” he said. “There’s no major crime in our town; when we call they come out and the deputies are professional.”

However, “people would love to see a deputy walking down their street, but that’s just not going to happen,” said Don Foster, a Fairfield councilman.

Fairfield, Rockford, Spangle, Waverly and Latah are tossing around the idea of combining resources and creating their own police department, Foster said. But nothing official has been discussed.

“It all comes down to money,” Foster said.

Deer Park Mayor Mike Wolfe said the cost for putting a police department together would be a minimum of $600,000.

“There’s a committee afoot right now to establish our own police department,” Wolfe said. “We’ve had two public meetings and no one has attended. But even if we had our own law enforcement, I don’t know where the money would come from.”

Other than Spokane Valley, Deer Park has the most expensive law enforcement contract with the county because a deputy is assigned to the area five days a week for one shift.

Wolfe said even though a deputy is assigned to the area, law enforcement visibility is an issue in the town, which is 6.4 square miles.

“Currently he has to deal with everything that happens in Deer Park, and he’s basically been pulled off of patrol and is doing investigations and paperwork in the office,” Wolfe said. “He also has to respond to the schools because there isn’t a resource officer. He wears numerous hats.”

Are the coverage and contract fair? “That’s questionable,” Wolfe said.

“The nighttime deputies are supposed to be spending 75 percent of their time in Deer Park. We’ve been given credit on our contract because of a lack of their presence.”