Coulee City considers contracting sheriff's office

EPHRATA - Coulee City may contract with the Grant County Sheriff's Office to replace the town marshal.

The town is hunting for a replacement to its police force after its only officer, Brenda Cavoretto, left for a job with the Soap Lake Police Department. The city council previously heard a proposal from Soap Lake to join their police departments.

Soap Lake proposed charging Coulee City $115,000 to provide police for the town, according Soap Lake city records.

Councilmember Otto Jensen said in an interview the council authorized him and Councilmember Jim Adams to negotiate a proposal with the sheriff's office to provide police to the city. He pointed out the town wouldn't be able to hire more than one officer, which leaves gaps in when the officer is available.

"We need to look at all options to see what's best for our town," he said. He added they need to have availability of law enforcement.

The sheriff's office already provides support for the town's marshal, Jensen said.

"It isn't a radical idea," he said. "I don't know what the chances are. We need to listen to their presentation, hear their proposal and decide what's best for our community."

Sheriff Tom Jones and Undersheriff Dave Ponozzo mentioned the fact they assist Coulee City already during a meeting with the Grant County commissioners Tuesday. Ponozzo said the idea makes sense in so many ways.

"We're handling, I would say a conservative estimate, 50 percent of the calls," Jones said.

Ponozzo pointed out every time the sheriff's office responds to Coulee City, they need to generate a case. The Multi Agency Communications Center (MACC) determines how much it charges the office based on the cases generated.

"So far this year, as of three weeks ago, I already figured out that we paid an excess of $19,000 in agency (assist) calls," Ponozzo said. "Countywide, I'm saying, we've done $19,000, Coulee City certainly has its share."

If the city didn't hire a new marshal, Ponozzo said the sheriff's office would be responsible for providing police service to the town.

"It may be limited, but for anything that's major, we're going to take time anyway, we would be obligated to do it," he said. "Our thinking, in talking with the city council is that we would be just as well off to take their budget."

The council offered to pay $80,000 to help hire the new deputy, Ponozzo said. The salary and benefits for the deputy would cost about $90,000, leaving the office to pay about $10,000 for the officer.

"He's not going to be working Coulee City 40 hours a week," he said. ??(He's going to be) working the region, so it's going to be Hartline, Wilson Creek, Delano, which are all areas we're responsible to handle anyway, so during his 40 hours in a week, 170 hours in a month, we have a deputy out there ... to take care of some of those north (county) calls."

Jones expects the deputy would spend between 30 to 40 hours in the city limits, he said.

"Our intentions are not to place it on a 12-hour rotational crew," he said. "It would be kind of a specialty position, similar to the Wahluke School District position, to where we meet the needs of Coulee City first and foremost."

The amount the town pays for the service could possibly increase, Ponozzo said.

"For the $10,000 difference, I still think it's a benefit to the county," he said. "I think we get a better service for the citizens at the north end of the county."

Equipping the deputy is likely to cost an additional $20,000, many of which are one-time expenses, Ponozzo said.

"About the only things that will be consistent are wages and benefits, obviously, and then your maintenance and your fuel," he said.

The proposed first contract would be for three years, with following contracts being five years, Ponozzo said.

"You can't give this thing, even after one year, even two years, a good quality evaluation, so we suggested three years because you don't want to hire somebody just to tell them two years later they don't have a job," he said.

Mayor Rick Heiberg opposes the change, Jones and Ponozzo said.

Heiberg couldn't be reached for comment.