Brouhaha is a kind way to describe mess

I would like to respond to Clarice Montgomery’s letter of July 30 in which she refers to the “brouhaha” in Sultan. I thought that was a kind way to describe the current uproar in the Sultan Police Department. I have worked for the Sultan Police Department for two years. This isn’t the first time that there has been such controversy.

In fall of 2000 some council members contacted the county implying the city would like to contract with them for police services. The citizens of Sultan made plain their displeasure, and Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart came to the meeting himself. He told the city council that he would do his best for the city if services were contracted, but advised them that they would have nowhere close to the level of service they now enjoy.

Last fall, the city was again in a crunch, and cuts had to be made. The officers offered to give up their incentive pay, their COLAs, and to turn holiday-time into comp-time to be used instead of payment for holidays worked. Both Chief Fred Walser and Commander J.C. Becker gave up some of their salary. What happened? The chief was ordered to give layoff notices to three officers.

I would encourage each and every citizen and business owner in Sultan to attend city council meetings and express their views.

As of today, Sultan has a total of five officers to serve citizens 24 hours a day. They are doing their best, putting in long hours to try to keep all shifts covered. Take a moment to stop and thank them when you see them.

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