SNOHOMISH — The city of Snohomish is leaning toward keeping its cop shop.
Outsourcing police services is one of the ideas the city is considering to close a roughly $1 million shortfall in next year’s budget.
A contract with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office could save the city $375,397 a year, mostly in administrative costs, City Manager Larry Bauman said Thursday.
The city will hear public comment at a Tuesday hearing and also is waiting to count the results of taxpayer surveys, he said.
The surveys asked people in Snohomish if they’re willing to pay more in taxes to keep their police and the parks program. Surveys have to be postmarked by June 24.
Based on City Council discussions last month, it seems likely city leaders will recommend keeping the Snohomish Police Department, Bauman said.
“The current direction from council is to maintain our current police department and to fund the cost of doing that though property tax increments,” he said.
In recent years, the city hasn’t raised property taxes as much as state law permits. The amount not raised is automatically “banked” for the city to draw on in the future.
The city expects to announce the final tally of the survey results at the July 5 City Council meeting.
That’s also when Bauman has to get to work on his recommended 2012 budget, he said.
He plans to ask the council for guidance, including how to budget for police services. The budget isn’t final until late November or early December.
There’s no time line for a final decision on the cops, he said.
“There is no magic date for that,” he said.
If the city did end up deciding to pursue a sheriff’s contract, it would take time to negotiate and organize a transition, but “that’s not where I see us going at this time,” Bauman said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
Meeting
The Snohomish City Council scheduled a meeting Tuesday to hear from the public about the city’s budget. The meeting is expected to follow the council’s regular session, which is set to begin at 6 p.m.
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