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HomeMy Public PortalAboutMinutes_City Council Town Hall Meeting_06132019TOWN HALL MEETING IONA COMMUNITY CENTER JUNE 13, 2019 — 7:00 P.M. PRESENT: Mayor Dan Gubler, Council President Rob Geray, Council Member Michael Thompson, Council Member Kathy McNamara, Council Member Peter Wadsworth and City Clerk Keri West. ABSENT: City Attorney Andrew Rawlings, Public Works Director Zech Prouse and Treasurer Amy Sullivan. VISITORS: Mayor Gubler welcomed everyone and Council Member Wadsworth led the Pledge of Allegiance. A roll call was taken to open the meeting. ITEMS OF BUSINESS: Discussion of Police Coverage in the City of Iona — Mayor Gubler stated the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office (BCSO) approached the City a few weeks ago to entertain the idea of having BCSO provide all police coverage in the City of Iona. Mayor Gubler explained all residents will have the opportunity to speak, but they will be required to approach the podium and stated their name and address for the record. Mayor Gubler requested Council President Geray to read aloud the Contract Proposal Items as presented by the BCSO. Council President Geray read the Contract Proposal Items (Exhibit A) to the public. Mayor Gubler asked if anyone from the public is in favor of this contract. No response. Mayor Gubler asked if anyone from the public is opposed to this contract. Several citizens raised their hands. Mayor Gubler directed the members of the audience to approach the podium one at a time and voice their concerns. Brad Andersen, Iona resident (4933 Camas Creek Circle) and previous Mayor, approached the podium and thanked the Mayor and City Council for holding the Town Hall Meeting and listening to the public's concerns on this issue. Mr. Andersen said he has been a lifetime resident in Iona and the City has always had a Police Department. He believes this has helped maintain the small town feeling of Iona and adds value to the community. Mr. Andersen also stated when he was Mayor and a City Council Member, the City met with BCSO two -three times to discuss a full-time contract. Each time this was discussed, the City decided the BCSO could not meet the needs of the residents in Iona. He also stated the City of Ucon has their own Police Department and does not have a contract with BCSO and they do very well. Mr. Andersen also stated the City is located in Bonneville County, so BCSO is required by law to respond to any calls in our City. Mr. Andersen continued by saying BCSO will tell the City they can do the job cheaper than we can do it ourselves. However, cheaper is not always the better option. The safety of the residents should not be determined by cost. Mr. Andersen also stated the Iona Police Department (IPD) maintains "Community Policing" and what BCSO is offering is "Enforcement Policing". 1 He continued and stated with BCSO, the City loses all control. With IPD, the City is able to control what hours and what shifts are being worked by the officers. Mr. Andersen stated the City did a survey two years ago regarding the water system and the IPD. The survey showed that 88% of residents wanted to maintain their own Police Department. John Stanger (5357 Scoresby Avenue) stated his opposition for getting rid of the IPD because the City would lose our home town feeling. He continued by saying the whole community knows Officer Hinton and Officer Mathie. If the City abandons the IPD, we will not have the same officers every day with BCSO. Jolyn Louk (5428 Rockwood Avenue) stated she is not in favor of a full-time contract with BCSO. She feels the arrangement the City has now with our officers and using BCSO as backup is the perfect combination. She stated having the IPD, the officers get to know the residents and are dependable. Ms. Louk continued by saying the population of Bonneville County has increased dramatically and the BCSO is not receiving much more in taxes to accommodate the growth. She also stated the BCSO is currently down about 7 officers, but does know they have more coming in after training. She continued and said the City needs to keep the IPD to maintain control of our safety and not share our officers with the rest of the County. Ms. Louk also stated the Mayor needs to keep the IPD accountable and make sure they are doing the job they were hired for and keep accurate time records and reports. Cassie Adams (5456 Hansen Avenue) approached the podium and stated a previous experience when someone was seen in her yard and Officer Hinton, as well as the BCSO, showed up quickly to assist with the situation. She continued and said she feels Iona is a safe place to live because of the presence of the IPD. Gary Elliott (5462 Rockwood Avenue) approached the podium and stated, the City cannot manage something we do not own. He voiced concern about losing the control if the City gives all police duties to BCSO. The City would no longer control the costs, the hours, the employees, etc. Mr. Elliott continued by saying if the City goes to BCSO and is not happy with their services; it would be exponentially expensive to start the IPD up again. Dennis McArthur (3652 Dayton Street) stated the local officers get to know the community and bring value to the City. The officers get to know the area and notice suspicious activities or vehicles without having to receive a call. Mr. McArthur also stated it is easier for someone to steal or engage in illegal activity if no one in the area knows who they are. He also stated he believes in being frugal, but this is a service that needs to be paid for because it is worth it. Mayor Gubler asked the public to raise their hands if they are in favor of keeping the IPD. Clerk West counted 24 people. Mayor Gubler asked the public to raise their hands if they are in favor of contracting with BCSO for all police services. Clerk West counted 0 people. Council President Geray stated he would like to give a little perspective to the public regarding the depth of this situation. He stated the current budget to run the IPD is about $250,000. He continued and highlighted the lowest entry point for a contract with BCSO is $120,000 which is more than 50% less than our current budget for policing. Council President Geray said he agrees that some things are worth paying for, but that is a significant difference that needs to be 2 considered. He also stated that the IPD works in conjunction with the existing contract we have with BCSO to support the IPD. Council President Geray addressed the survey mentioned earlier stating 88% voted to keep the IPD. However, data and statics can be interesting, but we need to understand the scope and the wording of the question. He read the question in the survey, "Do you support the current arrangement with two Iona officers and partial coverage by Bonneville County?" He pointed out that the question does not address the cost of having the IPD being double that of a contract with BCSO. Council President Geray also highlighted the difference in calls taken between the IPD and the BCSO. Based on county dispatch information provided by the BCSO covering the period of January 2017 to May 20, 2019, if we exclude traffic stops, the IPD responded to 487 calls and BCSO responded to 739 calls for service. BCSO is already pulling a lot of the weight for our police coverage and are only charging us $26,000 annually. He foresees that amount going up drastically if we keep the IPD. Council President Geray also stated the BCSO also knows the City of Iona. He is aware of at least 3 BCSO deputies that live in our City. He also stated the budget for the IPD has generally increased pretty substantially from year to year. Resident John Stanger stated the City of Iona is within Bonneville County, so by law they have to respond to our calls. Council President Geray stated Sheriff Wilde will explain the differences in the City of Iona having our own Police Department and their role as support vs the BCSO providing the service. Sheriff Paul Wilde of the BCSO approached the podium and stated he is an elected official by the residents in Iona and all of Bonneville County. His job is to serve all of Bonneville County. Sheriff Wilde stated BCSO has always supported the IPD and the City of Iona. However, when the City wants full law enforcement, they need to understand what is being requested. He continued by saying it takes 24 hours/day and 365 days/year to have full police coverage. The IPD is not equipped to handle that many hours. Sheriff Wilde stated they provide service to the City of Ammon and they have 11.5 dedicated officers. He also stated that Officer Hinton is a great officer and he would be considered for employment with the BCSO if the City decides to engage in the full contract. Sheriff Wilde also stated BCSO is obligated to respond to major calls, such as felonies, within all of Bonneville County. With the full contract, they would respond to all calls and the Mayor would be able to dictate which hours are patrolled. He also stated there are 7-8 BCSO deputies that live in the City of Iona and are familiar with the community. Sheriff Wilde asked the Mayor if Lieutenant Kevin Casper could address the Council. Mayor Gubler agreed. Lieutenant Kevin Casper approached the podium and stated the police business is 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. He continued by saying when the IPD has part time coverage, the BCSO is automatically subject to whatever hours the IPD doesn't cover. He also stated the BCSO feels they have been the consistent partner with the IPD employee turnover. He stated he has seen 7 IPD employees leave the IPD for various reasons. This is after the City has invested resources for training and equipment for those officers. Lt. Casper reiterated what Council President Geray said, BCSO has handled 70% of the 911 calls placed by residents in Iona. He also stated if the City engages in a full contract, it creates synergy for BCSO. They will be able to streamline their processes and include Iona in work they are already doing efficiently. For BCSO, this is not about making money; rather it is about cutting costs for Iona. 3 Council Member McNamara asked Lt. Casper if BCSO provided one officer for Iona, would that officer be shared with other areas. He stated if the City decides on the contract option of one full- time officer, that officer would have his 40 hour week assigned to the City of Iona. Larie Elliott (5462 Rockwood Avenue) stated they moved to Iona from a big city 4 years ago. She stated when she lived in that city; her neighbor's house was robbed and was completely emptied in about 2 hours. They now enjoy the personal touch of Iona knowing the IPD and their neighbors are watching and protecting them. Mrs. Elliott also stated earlier this month she was walking at the Iona City Park and Officer Hinton pulled up with a dog. He asked her if she knew who owned the dog and she pointed towards the house. Rather than taking the dog to the shelter, he returned the dog to the owners. Mayor Gubler stated the objective of tonight's meeting is to understand the level of coverage the residents of Iona want and feel is necessary. He has listened to all of the comments and believes most of the residents are happy with the current level of coverage. The job of the City Council now is to come up with the best way to pay for the coverage the residents want. Sheriff Wilde stated BCSO accepts their responsibility to provide service to Iona. He continued by saying if the City of Iona wants to maintain the IPD, they need to have a full police department and officers with the correct amount of training and equipment to do the job well and professionally. Mayor Gubler closed the Public Hearing portion of the meeting. Council Member Thompson stated he lives on the newer side of town and acknowledges that he has not lived in Iona as long as a lot of people in the meeting. He stated he does worry about Officer Hinton responding to calls alone and without backup. If the City of Iona had a full time police department, it would require close to 8 officers, which would be over $700,000 annually. Council Member Thompson continued and stated he feels BCSO offers professional service, but he does appreciate the small town feel of having the IPD. He also stated the IPD currently covers 100 hours of service per week. The first option with BCSO includes over 150 patrol hours in our area. The second option includes the 150 hours of patrol, as well as 40 specific hours exclusive to the City of Iona. Council Member McNamara asked Lt. Casper to clarify what services would be added if they engage in a full time contract, rather than the current part time contract. Council Member McNamara asked if the Code Enforcement and Animal Control are the only items not currently on the contract. Lt. Casper stated the full time contract would include those two items, but it would also include patrol which is not currently done because the City of Iona has their own IPD. Mayor Gubler stated the City Council will not be making any decisions on this matter tonight. This will be voted on at the next City Council Meeting on June 25th. He did say he agrees with BCSO's assertion that the IPD needs to behave professionally and obtain the necessary training to do so. He stated the IPD does have budgeted funds each year for continued training for the Chief of Police and all officers. 4 Mayor Gubler thanked all the residents in attendance for coming to this meeting and voicing their opinions and concerns. The input from the public helps the City Council make informed decisions. SUGGESTED AGENDA ITEMS: No items presented. Meeting Adjourned at 8:17 p.m. COUNCIL APPROVED: June 25th, 2019 ATTEST: /0/ Keri West, City Clerk Dan Gubler, Mayor 5