Does Kenmore receive the police services it needs? Is the service provided by the King County Sheriff’s Office cost effective?
Apparently, Kenmore officials would like the answers to those questions and a few similar ones.
In a memo sent to various officials, Kenmore City Manager Fred Stouder noted that over the last few years, local leaders have reviewed most of the city’s service contracts. The feeling became that Kenmore could handle some of the contracted work more efficiently and more cheaply in-house.
As a result, Kenmore added several new professionals to its permanent staff, such as a chief building official and some additional civil engineers. The city continues to contract for other, usually highly technical services, as needed. Notably, the city also continues to contract with the King County Sheriff’s Office for its police protection. In the memo, Stouder said police services are the only major contract service yet to be reviewed by the city.
“This is the biggest contract and probably the most important one,” Stouder added later.
City Hall now seems poised to take on a study of its police services, one that could result in changes to those services and who provides them.
In February, Kenmore City Council will review a $40,000 contract with Matrix Consulting Group of California to complete a survey of the city’s policing service and needs. Matrix plans to spend about 12 weeks on the project, ultimately presenting a final report to City Council. Still, Stouder said there is no particular service gap, no particular service issue prompting the probable study.
“I don’t have any preconceived notion or view that there is a problem here,” Stouder continued. He added that he and other Kenmore officials simply feel that after 12 years of contracting with King County, it is time to review that contract in depth.
“But this is not the result of anyone being unhappy,” Stouder added. Stouder said the city not only has a low crime rate, but also pays less per capita for police protection than many surrounding cities.
Kenmore Police Chief Cliff Sether said the sheriff’s office has absolutely no objections to the study, adding that such reviews have become common in cities that contract for safety services.
“It just makes sense,” Sether said given that spending on police services is a major expense for any city, including Kenmore.
According to Stouder, an informal committee of officials from Kenmore and neighboring communities — including Bothell City Manager Bob Stowe — has helped plan the study and tabbed Matrix as the likely consultant.
Stouder added he included officials from outside Kenmore partly to gain added perspective, but also because those cities may or may not represent alternatives to using the sheriff’s office for police service.
According to Matrix’s preliminary proposal, the policing study will look at eight key questions including: Is there a need for all the services being currently provided? Are there needed services that aren’t being provided? Are there feasible alternatives to contracting with the county such as contracting with a neighboring city? What are the comparative costs?
Again according to Matrix, Kenmore’s policing costs increased by about 6 percent annually since 2006. In that year, the city paid the county $2.2 million for police protection, while the dollars budgeted in 2010 amounted to $2.9 million, a total increase of 28 percent over four years.
Serving a population of almost 21,000 people, Kenmore’s police force currently consists of one sergeant (who doubles as the police chief), nine patrol officers, one community storefront officer and one traffic officer.
The police contract also provides dispatching services; access to the county bomb squad; canine units; SWAT services; and, major crimes investigations handled by county detectives.
If the work moves forward as currently planned, Matrix will break its study into several parts. The first involves interviewing various stakeholders from the city manager to representatives of the sheriff’s office. A second phase would look at staffing issues, service levels, city demographics and similar questions. Costs would be reviewed in a couple of different ways. Matrix plans public meetings to gather resident opinions on police services and any potential changes in those services.
