COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — A city-run police department could save Cottonwood Heights hundreds of thousands of dollars and increase police staff by 15 percent.

Those study findings, described as conservative, were presented to the City Council last week. Results were attractive to the south valley city, which incorporated just two years ago. The failure of the Unified Police Department, Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder's focus away from local policing and the reassigning of Cottonwood Heights' top cop led the city to pursue a self-providing model.

"To us, the economics are only one measure. The real issue for deciding to self-provide is the issue of providing the best police protection for our residents," said Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore Jr.

Cullimore is leaning toward a city police force, a model where police report directly to the elected officials. The city contracts with Salt Lake County for police services. But Winder does not want to lose another city from the county force.

Three public safety unions announced they would be joining Winder to "educate Cottonwood Heights residents about the costs and impacts of forming their own police force." The unions are the Utah Alliance of Government Employees' Public Safety Coalition, the Deputy Sheriff's Federation and the Fraternal Order of Police.

Union representatives walked through neighborhoods handing out brochures. Winder will also present the county's contract proposal to the city Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Cottonwood Heights' City Hall.

But a feasibility study by Salt Lake-based Bonneville Research indicated that a locally run police department is attainable.

It currently costs the city $3.6 million a year for 23 police officers in their county-run precinct.

However, if Cottonwood were to self-provide, in the first year of operation, 26 police officers would cost $3.52 million a year. Bump that model up to 33 police officers and the cost goes up to $4.29 million a year.

Start-up costs, however, would be roughly $1.5 million. Cullimore assured residents that the city could find budget or grant money for those initial costs. "There's no intent to raise taxes with this at all," he added.

Some residents, however, were nervous about losing the amount of county resources the county provides.

Trudy Cropper, a resident and also a police officer in West Valley City, said she is concerned that the city would only have one or two detectives under the self-providing model.

"They don't specialize in anything. You can be a jack of all trades, but are you really getting the best that's out there?" Cropper said. "I just think there's so many more resources that we get with the sheriff's office that we're not looking at. ... I don't believe for one minute that self-providing will be better for us as citizens."