Bluffdale bristles over police ultimatum

BLUFFDALE — Complaints from mayors of neighboring cities that Bluffdale is skimping on law enforcement are unfair, Councilman Bill Maxwell said, "and they're starting to tick me off."

A discussion about adding another patrol deputy in Bluffdale changed gears during last week's City Council meeting when Maxwell presented a cost analysis that puts a dollar figure on the time officers from Riverton, Herriman and unincorporated Salt Lake County spend responding to police calls in Bluffdale.

A crossover agreement allows Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies contracted by one of the entities to respond in the boundaries of another when needed. Complaints have arisen out of Herriman and Riverton that the give-and-take relationship isn't equitable, accusing Bluffdale of doing too much taking and not enough giving.

In January, Herriman Mayor Lynn Crane issued an ultimatum in a letter to members of the Bluffdale City Council, telling them to immediately find additional funding for law enforcement or prepare to lose police support from neighbors.

Maxwell said that spurred him to analyze the issue and determine how much money police responses in Bluffdale cost the other member entities in 2006.

In all, deputies contracted by the other entities spent about 274 hours responding to calls in Bluffdale, according to a sheriff's office report. Using that data and the approximate cost of $125,000 per deputy with car and equipment, Maxwell determined that Bluffdale was deficient by $17,119.88 for the year.

"I'm sorry, but I find that pretty insignificant for all the fuss that the mayors of Riverton and Herriman have caused," he said.

Bluffdale contracts for the equivalent of 2.5 full-time officers, which is not enough to provide around-the-clock police response, leaving gaps that the other cities have to fill. In his letter, Crane calls for the city to immediately add one patrol deputy and a fourth deputy by July of this year or January 2008. Though he agrees that Bluffdale needs to increase its police force, Maxwell says that decision is up to Bluffdale's City Council, not mayors of neighboring cities.

"I don't like the way the mayor of Herriman has written us a nasty letter," he said, "and I've read in the newspaper that the mayor of Riverton is telling us to do something about it. Quite honestly, it doesn't look like they've done their homework, because this is just peanuts."

Maxwell also contends that assistance from Bluffdale's fire department should be taken into consideration.