COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Tensions flared in Cottonwood Heights' packed City Hall recently when the county sheriff and city officials butted heads over the kind of police service the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office could provide versus the city's local-control model.

The county sheriff says he can save Cottonwood $698,915 a year if they stick with the county; the city argues they can save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and have more officers with their self-providing model.

"The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office has served the citizens of Cottonwood Heights for over a century," Sheriff Jim Winder said. "The sheriff's office provides you with many benefits. But at the end of the day, the sheriff's office provides you with men and women who have been serving this community since it was born."

Winder asked the city to give the sheriff's office two years to prove they can give Cottonwood the community-focused model they desire.

Sheriff Sgt. Shane Hudson presented the department's response to a Cottonwood Heights-commissioned study by Salt Lake-based Bonneville Research. If the city leaves the sheriff's office, he listed dozens of specialty services they'd be missing out on, like a SWAT team, crime lab, metro gang unit and terrorism task force.

"The expertise they provide is phenomenal. They provide an expertise that, frankly, smaller units don't get," Hudson said.

Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore Jr. took issue with the sheriff's numbers. He said the amount of money the sheriff's office says could be saved for the city is "absolutely deceiving" because it doesn't account for the four sheriff's officers in Cottonwood who also service the unincorporated areas of Millcreek, White City, Granite and Willow Creek.

On top of that, Councilman Bruce Jones pointed out that the cities who already self-provide have given Cottonwood Heights different numbers than the sheriff's office presented.

Hudson said Draper has seen an increase in police spending of 50 percent in four years since self providing, and Taylorsville has seen a 50 percent increase in three years. The sheriff's office, however, sees budget increases of about 5 percent a year

"They believe they're saving a lot of money," Jones said. "These cities tell us something different than what you're presenting. You think they're wrong?"

Hudson responded: "I believe so. Their services are diminished for a higher price."

Most of the residents who spoke at a recent public hearing were against a self-providing model. However, many had ties to the sheriff's office.

Chris Bertram, a sheriff's lieutenant, shared the story of the three-month search to find Alex Tanigawa, a 1-year-old baby kidnapped from Cottonwood Heights. The boy was kidnapped by his father, Nicholas Gamvas, and investigators traveled to Rhode Island to find him.