Citizen Input Needed
The City Council is considering major issues as they prepare for the yearly budget deadline in late June. In last month’s letter to you, I introduced the subject of the increasing costs of public safety and possible alternatives of dealing with them. The Mayor and City Council are unanimous in agreement that public safety, along with utilities (water, sewer, solid waste, roads, etc.) are essential services. The question of how best to provide these services remains.
The purpose of this letter is to furnish information to aid you in giving us feedback. Next year the budget proposed by the North Park Police Commission will cost North Logan approximately 1.1 million dollars, nearly one fifth of the City’s total general fund budget, and is projected to increase annually thereafter at a rate sustainable only if citizens will support paying a premium of increased property taxes equivalent to $50-$60 per year on the average private residence or a commitment to some similar increased revenue source. Comparable increases would be necessary to sustain our own fire department and EMS services with needed manpower and still provide needed funding for other essential services.
Alternative delivery methods such as contracting with the County Sheriff’s Department (CCSD) or possibly combining services with Smithfield, could save over $300, 000 a year and would have several possible other advantages. Many police officers and support staff would be hired to maintain existing patterns of assigned patrol and animal control. An important point is that job security, comparable pay, fringe and retirement benefits, increased career ladder and training opportunities and larger more stable manpower pools for our existing police officers would be preserved or improved. We care every bit as much about these considerations as just saving costs. In addition, CCSD is obligated by law to provide law enforcement service beyond patrol at no additional cost via the county property taxes we pay. All but four cities (Logan, North Logan, Hyde Park and Smithfield) in Cache Valley contract with CCSD for police services at considerable per capita cost savings, and all the cities we have interviewed express high satisfaction.
To be as fair, neutral and objective as possible, potential disadvantages to maintaining our own police department as well as alternative approaches exist. Six years ago, North Logan relinquished direct control of police services to the North Park Police Commission. Now the City has direct control only over funding levels recommended by the Commission. Nevertheless, we may still have greater influence over the style and commitment of our own department than under contracted services. Costs of all alternatives are expected to continue to increase over time. Additionally, most cities throughout the State with populations equal or greater in size to North Logan have their own police departments. If we do the same it will be more expensive to maintain, and the extra costs will be passed along to our citizens. But on the other hand, it would probably be easier to keep our own police force now than to abandon and subsequently try to reestablish it in the future if we were not satisfied with other alternatives.
There will be a town meeting on Wednesday, May 9th at 7:00 p.m. at the Greenville Elementary School to provide additional details, discuss the pros and cons of the issue and subsequently give you an opportunity to respond in a public survey. We would then take the time necessary to arrive at a final decision that seems most prudent taking multiple factors into consideration, not just relative costs. Ideally, a clear consensus will emerge.
We hope you understand what a difficult decision this is, and how much we need your diverse, but thoughtful input.