Sweet Home Police Department is asking voters to extend its local option levy, used to fund all police and dispatch operations, by four years.
“It is, as true as I can make it, a renewal levy,” Police Chief Bob Burford said. The request is status quo. The single difference in service levels is reflected by the possible award of a grant for a school resources officer, which would require a match of $42,000 from the department during the life of the levy.
The current levy will expire on June 30. The levy extension would begin on July 1 and run through June 30, 2007.
The levy requests a 10.67 percent increase, to $1,631,221, over the final year of the current levy, $1,473,987. The total increase is $157,234. The rate for the levy would increase from $5.78 per $1,000 of property valuation to $6.21.
In the remaining three years of the levy, the total funding requested by the department would increase by a maximum of 3 percent per year.
The current levy would have been insufficient to fund the police department over the last three years except that the department has operated with open positions for much of the period, Chief Burford said. Had the department been fully staffed, it would have been forced to lay off employees.
The increase is based on a detailed estimate of current expenses and what they will be next year. Over the life of the current levy and on into next year, several factors play into the larger expenses.
Components of the $157,000 increase include the match for the school resource officer grant, $42,000; $11,000 in insurance increases; $78,000 in retirement contributions; and smaller increases throughout the budget.
Insurance costs
“Insurance has been going up 15-20 percent a year,” Chief Burford said. The department has completely covered the cost of insurance premiums for its employees and continues to do so this year. During labor negotiations this year, the department and union agreed to find ways to freeze or reduce the cost of insurance.
Premiums at the police department can reach $942 for employees with families.
Retirement benefits
The department’s contribution to retirement will increase from $48,000 to $116,000 as part of an agreement in negotiations to pick up employee contributions to retirement in lieu of a raise.
The 6-percent contribution is not taxed, City of Sweet Home Finance Director Pat Gray said. The actual cost of the contribution to the city is the equivalent of approximately 4 percent in raises.
The election
The request contains no “major ticket” items, Chief Burford said. “Even though Sweet Home has shown significant growth the last six years, we have attempted to tighten our belts as much as possible and, other than the (school resource officer), are not proposing any additional personnel for the life of the levy.…
“We are really at the point where we need an extra officer. We’ve gone years without adding, but now is not the time. We’re just going to continue with what we have.”
If some of the developments proposed locally come to fruition in the coming years, the department might return at the end of the levy and ask for additional personnel.
“I really think this is a make-or-break election for us,” Chief Burford said. “All Sweet Home police services are fully dependent on levy approval. No other funding source is possible. This renewal is truly a continuation of current services without fat.
“Failure to pass this time allows us one other attempt. However any other election will require a 50-percent turnout. Neither of the last two elections have received 50-percent turnout from voters within the city limits.
“I’m not sure that the majority of voters realize that a no vote is not a cutback. It is very likely a shutdown.”