Hayden Public Safety Commission analyzes policing services

HAYDEN — The Public Safety Commission discussed the history of law enforcement services in Hayden during a meeting Tuesday at City Hall. 

The meeting was mainly to help get the commission caught up on some of the historic data so they can analyze that with current statistics to establish some direction for the commission moving forward.

The commission, created by city ordinance last year, includes five members who were appointed by the mayor with the consent of the City Council: Scot Haug, who serves as chair; Doug Chotkevys, vice chair; Raleigh Measom; Steve Hall; and John Spencer. 

According to Chotkevys, the group will be gathering information through city staff and will be using that to advise the City Council on public safety ideas.

City Administrator Lisa Ailport updated the commission on some of the historic financial decisions and how they have played a part in the evolution of public safety in Hayden.

Law enforcement was the initial topic of discussion, and Ailport said the first pricing contract between the city and the county was established in 1971.

The initial cost was $6,000 annually, and that allocated one deputy for the cost, but that cost increased as time went on and the population grew.

"In 1982, that amount increased to $73,637," Ailport said. "The city received two deputies, and this is all through the contract and services through the county."

The costs have fluctuated considerably since.

Cost of service continued to increase, and according to statistics the contract cost went up to $120,251 for two deputies in 1990.

Ailport said finding concrete statistics for certain periods was difficult.

In 2001, the city increased the contract from $150,000 to $174,000. 

According to Ailport, the city increased the overall annual safety budget to $200,000 from 2003-2006.  

However, she said there were no notes or filed documents telling why the increase happened.

In 2011, the city paid $192,575 for two deputies and a vehicle, and the following two years they cut the cost down to $143,195 to cover only the cost of two deputies.

In 2014, the city agreed to pay full-time wages for three deputies, which totaled $273,720 annually.

The most current contract has a price tag of $76,433 per month, and that covers the wages for 10 deputies.

The City Council also agreed to pay $160,000 for the purchase of two police vehicles with the current contract.

Prices have continued to increase, and much of the reason is because the cost of service also went up.  

Between 2017 and now, the population has grown by almost 4,000 residents.

Chotkevys said he believes there is a mutual aid agreement in place as well, because he doesn't think all the deputies are in Hayden at any one given time.

One item that kept resurfacing was the idea that Hayden taxpayers may want to know that the deputies and vehicles will be available to service Hayden.

Commissioner Measom said he understands that sometimes a call may come through in which a deputy may travel from Hayden to Coeur d'Alene to answer a call for service.

"You're right, we want to make sure our Hayden cars and our Hayden deployment is available for the city of Hayden," Chotkevys said. "And not over covering a break-in at Cabela's in Post Falls."

"Having said that, I'm not saying that's the case, but it's part of the accountability that goes forth as this contract gets developed, that can give Lisa (Ailport) and the mayor the ability to have some input, and provide city council some oversight," he said.

The public safety commission will look to identify avenues to help stabilize public safety in town, and Chotkevys has some specifics he wants to see implemented.

Chotkevys said he wants to see more analysis on crime stats and response times, and that would help provide information so the staff and mayor can make better, well-founded suggestions moving forward.

Chotkevys said he sees response time as the most important during an emergency situation.

"That's where I'm more focused on," Chotkevys said. "What is our response time?"

He asked if deputies have first-aid kits in their cars. 

Chotkevys said sometimes the medical personnel may be on a call and he wants to ensure some member of public safety will be able to help someone having an emergency, so he wants to possibly implement some medical response and training to sheriff's deputies as well.  

Chotkevys also called for an established meeting time to be made, and the consensus was for the meetings to take place at 1 p.m. the first Tuesday of each month.