There are many reasons why contracting with the county for police services could benefit a small town and cost is often what people think of first. In most cases, the real reason to contract for police services is to have a large enough and competent enough police force to provide the safety that the community expects. It’s a simple fact that some small towns can’t hire, train and retain competent officers. Once an officer is trained and has a year or two of experience they jump at the chance for a higher paying or more demanding job in another department.
Snohomish is not a small town such as mentioned. We have officers on duty for us 24/7 and if one of them finds another opportunity, we have trained officers on a waiting list to come and work in Snohomish.
Cuts will need to be made in order to balance a budget and there will always be a group that loses something important. Often times there are ways to bring some services back when people see the need and get involved. Bringing back police services to a local identity is not likely to happen if the services go through the process of being contracted out.
There are budget decisions to be made. And there is a decision to be made on whether to maintain our own police department or contract with Snohomish County. These are important decisions and should be separate decisions — one should not drive the other.
Kraig Rosencrantz
Snohomish
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