Communities are gaining new police, firefighters

HIGHLAND — An overworked police and firefighter force can look forward to a lighter load following the impending hire of several additional personnel.

The Lone Peak Fire District will quadruple its staff by hiring nine full-time firefighters in the next couple weeks, Fire Chief Craig Carlisle told board members at a recent Lone Peak Safety District board meeting.

The Alpine/Highland police force also will gain three more officers, said Police Chief Kip Botkin.

The fire department, which covers Highland, Alpine and Cedar Hills, will largely finance the employee increase through a $931,500 grant it received last fall from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. With only three full-time employees at the moment, Carlisle said the enforcements are badly needed.

"I am so excited because (now) we will have a total of six people on 24/7," he said. "It'll help us with manpower as well as decrease our response time."

The Alpine/Highland police force, currently staffed by 17 officers, will benefit greatly from extra staff, Botkin said.

"We police a population of about 25,000 people, seven days a week," he said.

The department's staff has not grown at a rate proportional to the population increase in the two cities it covers. In 1997, 11 officers served a population of 11,000 — one officer for every 1,000 people.

Even though the additional three officers won't bring the officer-to-citizen ratio back to what it was in '97, Botkin said he hopes it will benefit the community's residents.

"There are a number of additional services we would like to provide the community and we're hoping these additional officers move us in that direction," he said.

The staff boost could have other positive impacts, including a decrease in the amount of overtime pay the department forks over each month.

"We're not like City Hall that closes down," Botkin said. "Police service is totally different. You have to have (officers) out there all the time."

With a small number of officers already, when any of the staff misses work for training, vacation, sick leave or court appearances, the other officers have to work overtime to pick up the slack.

"Over the years our overtime budget has been way overspent," Botkin said.

The area's growing population also has impacted Lone Peak Emergency Medical Services, according to an annual report presented at Thursday's meeting.

Since 1996, the number of EMS calls has increased by an average of 25 percent each year, according to the report. Assistant Fire Chief Brad Freeman said the department treated more than 800 people last year and collected approximately $400,000 from ambulance fees.

The population spike doesn't seem to be hurting the paramedic program, though.

"Surrounding agencies are trying to duplicate what we are doing," Freeman wrote in the report. "I have received several letters and accolades from patients as well as medical professionals on the success of the paramedic program."