Reader comments
Utah County deputies may face big cutbacks

I feel very badly for Utah County, and their Sherriff Deputy problem. I hope they get the funding they need. This is really sad, I really feel bad for them.

One of the last things to cut that city, county and state government should consider is public safety. As the economy stalls and tax revenues shrink crime will go up.

I also feel bad for Utah County but it doesn't sound like a Sheriff's Deputy problem. It sounds like its a problem for county residents. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know less cops mean more crime.

In times where tax revenue decreases, you need to adjust your budget accordingly. If it is a family that were to lose a source of income, they would need to do the same. If the county increases taxes to obtain more money, it may just push these families that are struggling to make ends meet, over the edge.

The economic downturn that parts of the country are experiencing now, will not last forever. All you need to do is look at the big cities in the East, and what they are doing. They keep increasing their taxes to make up short-falls, and more people leave to get away from the ever-increasing taxes.

With people having their homes foreclosed on in increasing numbers because they can't make the payment, increasing taxes would push even more people into foreclosure.

When a private company has a budget shortfall they cut less essential services. When a government agency has a budget shortfall they cut the most visible services to put pressure on for more bidget allocation and/or increased taxes.

my experience with the utah county sheriff's department is that they spend too much time trying to build cases against innocent people. they simply need to reasses their priorities. and stop wasting tax payers' money.

During this economic crisis crime will go up. I have small kids and I fear for their safety enough as it is. I moved to Utah County because it is a great place to raise children. I lived in California and I know some of the problems they face. We have it good here. This is one of the best communities in the nation. It has become so for a reason. If we start cutting our law enforcement in this time of crisis, we will be putting our children more at risk. I read the news and take an active role in making sure my kids are safe. Mark my words... we will be sorry if we ignore this problem. We want officers out there protecting us and our families. We should not stand for this declining safety of our families. Heaven forbid I have to pay an extra $20 for the safety of my family. Trust me... it's well worth the investment. If you don't agree now, I'm sure you will if you or a loved one becomes a victim of a crime that could have been prevented. DUI drivers kill many people each year.

These are the guys who spend a great deal of time in Salt Lake County wiring homes for civil divorce proceedings. Go ahead and cut their budgets. Good agencies will pick up the slack.

Why aren't the commissioners, more specifically Commissioner White, accountable for spending the excess funding and draining that account was supposed to fill in the gap at a time like this?

The tax increase would only mean a small amount per household, per year. It would be $8 per person, per year, to not lose police services. It is a small amount to pay to not have our crime rate rise. Commissioner White is a thief, and he needs to answer to the taxpayers about where he spent this money we so desperately need right now.

I would rather have the tax increase than lose officers. We have the second highest population, and the lowest tax base in Utah. All the commissioners care about is being re-elected. They don't care about the citizens, just themselves. They need to do what is best for everyone. Their budget went up $60,000 for next year, but EVERY OTHER DEPARTMENT suffered severe cuts. They get their pay raise in January, the rest of the employees in July. Take a look at what they are doing, it is WRONG!!

why is the Sheriff's office being hit so hard? 5.9. million is alot to cut. You would think that the commisiners that were elected to fund these assets would have planned better?

Given that this county hasn't seen a tax hike in 13 years, I'd gladly pay $20-$30 or more a year to keep these guys going. The last place to cut in bad times is law enforcement.

The sheriff's deputies are stretched too thin as it is. Cutting back on police protection for our communities at a time of increasing crime and traffic problems is just plain dumb.

It is my understanding that to fix this problem, Utah County residents would need to pay an additional 8 dollars a year in property taxes. Yet, county commisioners, who are clearly more concerned about their jobs than our public safety, are unwilling to raise taxes at all. Furthermore, Utah County recently allocated over one million in funds to a museum at the privately held Thanksgiving Point. How much sense does it make to open a museum at the cost of public safety? We can read in this same paper every day about the many criminals these men and women take off the streets. Certainly there would be even more if they had the resources. Rather than just reading this article or posting a comment, we should all call the commisioners of Utah County directly and demand accountablilty for such a ill-conceived budget cut. I will today.

I'm really concerned about this whole issue. It doesn't make sense to take Sheriff Deputies off the road. We are going to be loosing 18 officers, which is 1/3 of the total county Deputies. These deputies keep our canyons, outlying areas, county parks, unincorporated areas and some of the smaller cities, (that don't have their own police departments) safe from crime that happens there: drugs, alcohol, sex crimes, violence, gang activity, search and rescue, ect. Where do the criminals like to go? Out where they think no one can find them. Cut down on the law enforcement in those areas and we are shooting ourselves in the back. It would cost $20 a year per household to keep the Deputies there. That's $1.50 a month! BIG DEAL! I'll pay an extra $1.50 a month to know that my family is going to be protected! I know these deputies didn't get into this profession for the money, they do it to serve the people of this county. Hats off to them. We need to let the county commissioners know that they are putting this county in jeopardy. They are opening our doors to crime. Something needs to be done.

Didn't the commissioners just vote themselves a huge raise? Are they going to cut back? Don't put it on property taxes. Yes we will get through the hard times eventually but the increase will never go away. Just like Springville voted a bond election and that will increase residents property taxes. Perfect timing! We need a huge new library when people are losing their jobs, cutting back on food and the necessities of life. What were the supporters thinking? When the bond is paid for the property taxes will NOT go down. Then we will be like NJ paying evermore higher property taxes.

Well, we spent that 200 million dollars to "earthquake proof" our Utah state capital. Now, THAT was a great use of our state's revenue. Now IF an earthquake occurs it may not fall down.

This story is about the Utah County Sheriff's Department, not Salt Lake County.

I find it interesting that when there is trouble, your life is in the balance and "seconds" count that citizens feel they are protected by dialing 911 and the police aren't even there yet, but the police will be there in "minutes", just tell the criminal to wait.

Security is only a word. people need to protect themselves UNTIL the police can get there. Criminals biggest concern is an armed victim. Let's see, I don't think I've ever heard of an armed victim. I've only heard of "victim", unarmed at that.

Perhaps crime will go down if most citizens in good standing were to be armed.

Everyone needs to be smart about their budget during these bad economic times. Why is it that the politicians always cut the areas that have the biggest impact on the citizens? Easy answer, so they can pressure us for new tax increases. When I have financial shortfalls, I don't keep cable TV and Jazz tickets while shutting off the gas, then whine to my boss about it being cold. Why do the commissioners feel that this is the way to run things? I guess having 2 commissioners with no experience running a business being led by one who has run two businesses into the ground explains things.

I am reading the article, and all of a sudden this "Jones" pops up and the canyon enforcement issue is covered. Who is this "Jones"? Since his or her full name and position relative to the story is not there, why should I care what he or she says?

Journalism 101..........

What has been done is done fix the current problems. Get involved. call your commisioners ands elected officials make them accountable for what they do. Voice your opinions to them not these newspaper web pages.