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City moves ahead with law enforcement contract

The Sundance City Council passed a motion on Tuesday to move ahead with plans to contract for law enforcement services with the Crook County Sheriff’s Office. The aim is to have the new system in place by January, when Police Chief Marty Noonan intends to retire.

“In order for us to have a seamless transfer, we need to make a move tonight,” said Mayor Paul Brooks. “That’s where we are at. The money is not getting better.”

Brooks announced in September that the council was looking into the idea of entering into a contract for law enforcement rather than trying to maintain its own police department. The suggestion was made in response to the bleak financial outlook for the state, which will inevitably trickle down to the budgets of Wyoming’s municipalities.

The initial proposal, put forth by Sheriff Jeff Hodge, was to provide full coverage to Sundance at a cost of around $285,000 per year. Thanks to economy of scale, this would be a saving of $75,000 for the city budget, while also providing the Sheriff’s Office with a modest amount on top of the cost of providing that coverage, which will be put towards law enforcement needs.

The public response was mixed, with enough citizens to fill the council chambers attending a public hearing to express their concerns last month. Many of the concerns were answered at the time, but on Tuesday Brooks did speak to one outstanding question from incoming council member Randy Stevenson: could the police department be funded via a fee added to the utility bills of all Sundance residents?

Brooks said he investigated this possibility in order to give a firm answer, including by speaking with the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, but that he is not comfortable with the concept.

“The Constitution is fairly specific in that you will vote for a tax, and I think a fee is a tax, so I’m not at all interested,” he said.

Brooks announced that nothing has really changed since the idea was first posed, except that the city is running out of time to make a decision while still giving Sheriff Hodge time to prepare.

“I don’t see anything in our revenue forecast to make it look like the state is going to come out of this funk anytime soon, and so I am going to recommend to the council that I be allowed to sign a contract with the Crook County Sheriff’s Department so they have some lead time to hire people to backfill the vacancies caused when Marty retires,” he said.

The permission, he continued, would be contingent on City Attorney Mark Hughes, Police Chief Marty Noonan and Clerk Treasurer Kathy Lenz giving their stamp of approval to the contract.

Of those who had attended the public hearing, only Stevenson returned on Tuesday. He was invited to speak again to the council and began by acknowledging that the financial situation has rendered the decision inevitable.

“It’s fairly obvious that the finances are where they are and we aren’t going to change this, but what I would ask for is some specifics in the contract around ordinance enforcement and, if there is a large emergency out of town, that we at least maintain one officer in town,” said Stevenson.

Stevenson also asked that the council consider including the specifics of coverage in the contract, so this detail is captured in writing. Brooks confirmed that contract discussions will include such specifics.

At Hughes’ suggestion, the council added a friendly amendment to the motion that Sundance will petition the Wyoming Supreme Court for the county’s Circuit Court Judge Matthew Castano to hear ordinance violation cases. This will remove the need for a municipal court in Sundance.

Hodge reminded the council that his department will not enforce ordinances, but will offer support to whichever member of staff the council designates as its ordinance officer.

The question was put to the vote and all but Council Member Jana McLean approved of both the amendment and the overall plan to move forward with securing the contract