The cost of public safety

Officials say ongoing negotiations between the city of Hayden and Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office regarding a decades-old law enforcement contract look promising, but the price tag is still undetermined. 

Since taking office in January, Sheriff Bob Norris has repeatedly said the current Hayden public safety plan is unsustainable. 

Unlike other incorporated cities in Kootenai County, Hayden does not have a municipal police department but instead contracted with KCSO for additional patrol deputies. 

That agreement has been renewed for the better part of two decades, former Kootenai County Sheriff Ben Wolfinger said. In his opinion, it is mutually beneficial. 

“It is a win-win, the city helps us fund more positions, and we have more people able to serve the county,” Wolfinger told the Press Thursday. “And it is a win for the residents of Hayden because they get more deputies than the rest of the county.” 

Those three full-time and one seasonal deputies have cost Hayden $322,853 — or 6% of the city’s $5.1 million general fund expenditures for the past two years. 

As Idaho’s seventeenth-largest city, Norris said those four officers and $300,000 is not enough. 

“We simply cannot police Hayden to the degree it needs to be policed with $322,853,” he said. “Quite frankly, Hayden is just not that small 2,000 population that it once was.”

In the last few months, Norris has asked for an increase in funding for the contract, KCSO Capt. Andy Deak told the county commissioners on Tuesday. Deak said those negotiations have not yet been met, and the sheriff was moving forward with a termination notice ahead of the agreement expiration on Sept. 30. 

“Negotiations will continue to be sought in the meantime,” Deak told the commissioners before they unanimously approved the contract termination. 

Norris said the termination is a formality performed annually and assured that KCSO has full intentions to renew the agreement. However, he pointed out that provisions in the document have left Hayden and the county in a place of noncompliance. 

Based on the language in the contract, the sheriff can dissolve the agreement if “Kootenai County’s level of service drops below the (then) current average of 1.6 sworn personnel per 1,000 residents in Kootenai County.” In neither the county nor city of Hayden is that provision being fulfilled, Norris said. 

“Right now, the city of Hayden has about .26 officers per 1,000,” he explained. “That is an unheard-of ratio for a city of Hayden’s size. I think in the county, we are approximately 1.3.” 

Even if KCSO terminated the agreement, the county would still be required to provide public safety services in Hayden city limits, Wolfinger said. 

“The sheriff is required by law to provide law enforcement services,” he said. “The contract gives dedicated officers. If there is no contract, KCSO will still be called for services but not dedicated.” 

Hayden has tried twice to raise money for increased law enforcement through levy overrides, city administrator Brett Boyer told the Press in June. Both levies, conducted in 2018 and 2019, failed to receive majority voter approval. 

Redistributing budgeted general fund dollars is also complicated, Boyer explained. 

“Because our total general fund budget has been around $5 million for several years, to say we’re going to move half a million around to cover additional deputies is tough,” he said in the June interview. 

Hayden Mayor Steve Griffitts said he anticipated that the city would continue its partnership with KCSO. Griffitts said the citizens would need to approve any significant increase if additional funds are necessary for those services. 

“The city of Hayden has enjoyed a long partnership with the sheriff’s department and the county, which has allowed designated protection for the citizens of Hayden and has saved these citizens millions of dollars,” Griffitts said. “We look forward to continuing this partnership for many years to come.”

Norris believes Hayden needs to add approximately 12 deputies and increase appropriations to about $1.8 million over the next five or six years to provide a sufficient level of law enforcement. Those numbers, he noted, will continue to climb as the city population rises. 

“This service inadequacy didn’t happen overnight, and it is not likely going to be resolved overnight,” the sheriff said. “The mayor and city recognize the need for increased law enforcement. I applaud the mayor for understanding this and for seriously considering the safety of Hayden citizens and officer safety as well.”