SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Metro agencies and merged police units don't offer the local control West Valley City Police Chief Thayle Nielsen said is needed in community policing.
But they do save a lot of money, he acknowledged.
"We're expensive," Nielsen said of police departments and the lack of revenue they generate. "Cops cost a lot. Guns, ammo, service costs a lot. So we've got an obligation," he added, to be effective and efficient.
So Nielsen and the other 10 Salt Lake Valley police chiefs talked of merging their resources and buying power, without actually merging. Their result: the Valley Police Alliance.
So far, six of the 11 Salt Lake County cities with police departments voted to join the alliance.
"We still keep our autonomy in the city," said Midvale City Manager Kane Loader of why his city signed on. "… But we get the advantage of being [part of] a large agency."
Specifics on how public safety services will be shared among the departments won't be determined, said Nielsen, until each city that wants to join is on board.
And he added the alliance won't need a separate budget or tax.
Several departments already share K-9, SWAT and investigative services. But the alliance would allow departments to enlarge and maximize the savings, said Salt Lake City Police Chief Chris Burbank.
Especially in cases where one agency couldn't hire experts and specialists, or purchase a mobile command center that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, Burbank said, the cities can partner to share those services, as well as buy equipment in bulk.
Several chiefs and mayors note the economic success of the county-wide Unified Fire Authority as an incentive to create a Valley Police Alliance. But they don't want to lose the control they have by switching to a joint police force.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder said a merged agency, whether fire or police, generates savings due to consolidated fleets and facilities
"To gain economies of scale," Winder said, "it requires a conscious decision to put aside separate control issues and, quite frankly, participate in a communal, a truly communal, effort."
The sheriff's office has a budget dedicated for policing, Winder said, unlike some cities, which must weigh giving money to their police or to other departments.
But Winder has proposed a change to his office to give more local control to the cities and unincorporated areas under his jurisdiction, and the Legislature might approve it this session.
He's pitched a Unified Police Department where an administrative board comprised of mayors and two county council members would handle legislative and policy matters, while the sheriff would oversee executive, day-to-day issues.
