Under fire
Published 1:51 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
SNOQUALMIE – The budget for the Snoqualmie Department of Public Safety-Police Division has come under a barrage of criticism in recent months, with some calling for it to holster proposed spending increases. And as the City Council prepares to pass the 2002 budget at its next meeting, debate over whether Snoqualmie is “growing” into its police force will likely continue for some time.
The size of the Snoqualmie Police Division’s budget, and its staff, became an issue as candidates wrangled to win three seats on the City Council. Current Councilwoman Cathy (Runkle) Reed accused another incumbent councilwoman, Colleen Johnson, of creating a police force that was too large for the city’s needs, and of recruiting others to the council who shared her beliefs. Johnson denied the allegations.
Snoqualmie residents have also voiced concerns about the Police Division, including Mark Calvert, who has analyzed the proposed 2002 city budget. He said the division’s spending increases are out of line with increases to other city departments, and he added its budget consumes a disproportionate amount of the city’s general fund.
“The city police department budget, depending on how you want to look at it, is in fact aggressive and too far ahead of the curve,” he said, adding that arguments that Snoqualmie, which has more than doubled its population from 1,540 in 1995 to 3,416 in 2000, will grow into its Police Division budget don’t hold water.
“At the growth rate we experienced last year, it will take the city four years to grow into its budget,” Calvert said.
Critics of the Police Division’s budget also worry that the country’s recession could cause fewer homes to be built on Snoqualmie Ridge, which would reduce the amount of money flowing into city coffers.
Reed believes the city should cut two school resource officers (SROs) from the payroll once a federal grant that funds the positions ends next summer.
“The bottom line is if we don’t cut this now, the new council will do this,” Reed said during a recent workshop on the 2002 budget.
City Administrator Gary Armstrong said Snoqualmie has kept a watchful eye toward the economy, revising the proposed 2002 budget after the Sept. 11 attacks. But Snoqualmie won’t be affected by the downturn as much as other cities.
“We don’t see anything in our community here that we would have to take that kind of reactionary tep,” he said of budget reductions, adding that new home construction would at the least equal this year’s.
Calls for cuts to the Police Division come at a time when it is responding to more incidents than ever. In 2000, officers had 2,790 calls for service – everything from 911 hang-ups to reports of thefts and assaults.
So far in 2001, there have been 3,234 calls for service, an increase of 16 percent. And the year isn’t over yet.
“My officers are not sitting around and doing nothing,” Department of Public Safety Director Don Isley said. “They’re out there working every day.”
He added that the Snoqualmie residents he’s talked to like the level of service provided by the department.
“All the comments that I get are all positive comments. I haven’t heard a negative comment about the police and fire services that we have here,” Isley said.
Under the proposed 2002 Snoqualmie budget, the Police Division would receive $1.84 million, an increase of more than $240,000 from what was requested for this year, $1.56 million.
The division employs a total of 17 people, with 14 of them being patrol officers or management personnel, including Isley. Currently there is one assistant chief, one captain, two sergeants, seven patrol officers and two school resource officers (SROs).
For next year, Isley would like to promote two of his officers to sergeant, but the overall number of employees would remain the same. He would also like to purchase two new patrol cars to replace 1997 Ford Crown Victorias, at a cost of $63,000, as part of the division’s five-year replacement program, which it has used for the last decade.
Under the program, a patrol unit is assigned to two officers. Isley said studies have shown that assigning units to officers is better than the traditional pool system, increasing the life expectancy of the vehicles from three to five years.
“The studies say by doing this, you’re not replacing vehicles as often,” Isley said.
The Police Division’s two current sergeants work at night. Having four sergeants – who patrol the city like other officers – would allow the division to have them available on a 24-hour basis and rotate them between day and night shifts.
“What we’re trying to do is provide a supervisor that we can rotate and have online all the time,” Isley said, adding that sergeants have more responsibility and can better answer questions residents may have.
“That’s the most important thing that communities want is somebody who’s responsible to answer questions,” he said.
Salaries and wages take up one-half of the Police Division’s proposed budget, totaling more than $976,000, and Isley is also asking for $61,120 in overtime pay. A federally funded COPS grant will pay $73,400 toward the costs of the two SROs. However, the grant ends next summer, causing the Police Division to fund the program for the remainder of the year.
The SROs serve a number of roles inside Snoqualmie schools. They maintain law and order in hallways, while also serving as counselors, protectors and teachers.
“It’s something that has been needed for some time,” Isley said of the program, now in its second year.
Out of the city’s proposed $20.1 million budget for 2002, its general fund comprises $4.8 million. The Police Division budget siphons the most money out of the general fund, with the Fire Division’s proposed budget coming in second at $834,325.
In comparing the growth of the Police Division budget to the overall city budget from 1998 to 2002, Calvert, a certified public accountant who helps financially troubled companies get back on track, said the Snoqualmie city budget has grown by 192 percent during that time – from $10.5 million in 1998 to $20.1 proposed for 2002. The Police Division budget has jumped 263 percent during that period, starting at $687,000 in 1998 to $1.8 million in 2002.
Calvert suggested that the Police Division’s budget should grow at the same rate of the city’s overall budget. If that were the case the budget for 2002 would be about $1.3 million. The money saved, he said, could go toward other city priorities or be saved for future expenditures.
“The police budget is based upon head count. Head count direct costs equal about 80 percent of the budget,” he stated in his analysis. “Reduce the head count and the budget will become reasonable.”
Calvert does not believe the city needs two patrol officers on duty 24 hours a day. That policy originated when the city and Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Co. discussed ways to mitigate the Snoqualmie Ridge community. City officials wanted to ensure that downtown residents’ police services would not suffer because of people moving into the Ridge.
“If you take speeding off the [Snoqualmie Parkway], those poor officers have nothing to do,” Calvert said.
He added if one looks at the total number of officers in the Police Division (14), multiplies that by the number of hours they work in a year, assuming they work a 40-hour week (29,120), and divides that by the total number of calls for service in 2000 (2,790), it equals one call for service every 10.4 hours worked.
In his analysis, Calvert compared the Police Division’s budget for 2001 and 2002 to North Bend’s budget for police services. For 2002, North Bend, with a population of 4,746, according to the 2000 Census, plans to spend $947,076 to Snoqualmie’s $1.8 million. And with 10 commissioned personnel in its department, North Bend has a ratio of 2.1 officers per 1,000 residents, as opposed to Snoqualmie, which has 14 and a ratio of 4.1 officers per 1,000 residents.
However, North Bend contracts with King County to provide police services. Sgt. Grant Ste
